One of the big stories in the immediate aftermath of the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers was the revolt of fans. Signs and chants of ‘Fire Nico’ aimed at Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison flooded their home arena and many fans protested outside of that same arena. Minority owner Mark Cuban even came out and admitted his shock at the deal and questioned whether it was the right move.
Many months later and the trade still feels unreal to some degree, but there is no doubt that Doncic is now the face of the franchise for the Lakers. He has signed his new contract extension to keep him in L.A. for the foreseeable future and has gotten into the best shape of his life ahead of his first full season in the purple and gold.
Things have also moved forward in Dallas, though Cuban admits he still harbors some feelings from the Luka trade to the Lakers. In an appearance on a livestream with DLLS_Mavs, Cuban admitted that he feels he let people down by not being there when the trade went down, but feels what’s done is done and that fan sentiment will change if the Mavericks are successful:
“Fan is short for fanatic right? That passion is a good thing and those things dissipate with time. We all were hurt when Luka got traded, me as much as anyone because I felt like I let people down by not being there. But what’s done is done. We got Cooper [Flagg]. The Basketball Gods were looking down on us and Coop’s the real deal. He’s not even 19 years old. He could literally, depending on science, play for the Mavs for 25 years. I’m guessing if we do well and win, those sentiments will change.”
It is certainly true that winning solves everything and if Dallas has a successful season and grows into a true championship contender, fans will be able to get over it to some degree. But the Mavericks fanbase had such a connection to Doncic that it will always hurt to see him in another uniform, especially that of the Lakers.
But the opposite also remains true in that if Dallas struggles, and Luka shines in L.A. and brings another championship home to the Lakers, the Mavericks fan outrage could rise to a fever pitch as well.
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