Mavericks fans Luka Doncic protest is a PR nightmare no Nico Harrison excuses can fix
This feels like a nightmare Dallas Mavericks fans are waiting to wake up from. Luka Doncic, a 25-year-old who is already arguably the second-greatest player in the history of their franchise who just led them to an NBA Finals appearance months ago, has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick to the Mavs.
Not only is Doncic better and younger than Davis, but he was the face of the Mavericks franchise. American Airlines Center is always filled with No. 77 jerseys in support of Doncic, and now, without warning, he's gone.
Understandably, Mavericks fans took their frustration to the team's home arena and are protesting the trade. Their posters and chants won't mean anything, but still - the entire fan base is in utter shock and disarray.
There is a Luka protest outside American Airlines Center. pic.twitter.com/goslQDDzzl
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) February 2, 2025
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Mavericks fans are not interested in hearing anything from Nico Harrison
Once the trade became official, GM Nico Harrison released a statement on Doncic, thanking the superstar for his time with the franchise and all of the successes he brought to Dallas.
Nico Harrison's statement on Luka:
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) February 2, 2025
"We are thankful for Luka and grateful for his efforts during his time with us. He helped build this team and was an integral part of the success we’ve seen throughout the years, including our recent NBA Finals run”
via @MikeACurtis2 pic.twitter.com/ciwFsilkH3
Obviously, this is really hard for Mavericks fans to hear. Harrison acknowledged everything Doncic did for them, and yet, he still not only made the trade, but tried to justify it by trying to convince fans that the organization had a better chance of winning without Doncic.
Had the Mavericks traded Doncic for a different superstar like Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or even Victor Wembanyama, fans would've been heartbroken, but we probably wouldn't see protests. Mavericks fans know Davis is great, but he's six years older than Doncic, not as good, and arguably just as injury-prone. The Mavericks, objectively, got fleeced.
Nico Harrison: "The future to me is 3-4 years from now. The future 10 years from now -- they’ll probably bury me and [Jason Kidd] by then. Or we’ll bury ourselves.”
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) February 2, 2025
Harrison's final words at his press conference explaining why the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic.
There is one simple way for Nico Harrison to win the fan base back - he must find a way to build a roster good enough to win the NBA Championship. How he's going to do that without Doncic and without many assets at their disposal to improve their roster any further from where it is now is something I can't answer, but Harrison better have a plan.
If the Mavs win with Davis, Harrison can be forgiven for trading a superstar face of the franchise before he enters his prime. If they don't, and don't come close in the next year or two, Mavericks fans will only become more frustrated, and Harrison might lose his job.
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