Dallas Mavericks fans are furious about the stunning Luka Dončić trade, and while that’s bad news for them, it’s made for some interesting news reports from local Dallas-Fort Worth media.
The three-team trade that sent Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday in exchange for Anthony Davis shocked the sports world. It’s been called one of the most stunning trades in U.S. sports history; many people thought initial reports of the trade were a joke.
For Mavericks fans, however, the reality quickly set in that the popular Dončić, the NBA’s leading scorer last season and the face of the franchise, is gone. Dallas media went to work documenting fans’ anger and frustration. Fox 4 News talked to one animated fan wearing a Dončić jersey during a protest Sunday.
“I’ve been a Mavs fan my whole entire life, since I was a baby,” the fan said. “This is the worst moment in the history of my life. This is ridiculous. This is crazy, man. We went to the NBA Finals! Why are we trading the franchise player? … He’s supposed to have a statue!”
“Hell yeah!” a couple of fellow fans screamed in unison.
“This new management is putting profit over fans!” the fan continued. “They’re not worried about the fans. They don’t care.”
Other fans in the report couldn’t hide their devastation.
“[The Mavs] could win every game the rest of the season, and win the championship, and it wouldn’t really matter, because all of the emotional value in that journey just got sucked away,” another fan said. “It feels like someone close to you died, in a way. There’s lots of anger, for sure.”
WFAA ABC 8 showed a Luka Dončić tribute fans set up at American Airlines Center during the protest. The station showed video of arena workers removing the tribute overnight.
By now almost every sports analyst or personality has commented on the stunning trade that sent Dončić to the Lakers. (Even the Grammy Awards Sunday night featured jokes about the trade.)
While most of that commentary has skewered the Mavericks and general manager Nico Harrison, Charles Barkley said the Mavericks “must know something we don’t know” about Dončić.
Whatever the Mavs’ motivation in making the deal, Mavericks fans won’t ever forget.
“I hate everything about it … I’m done with the Mavs right now,” a fan told Fox 4 News.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.