The Dallas Mavericks are trying to salvage the remains of a disastrous season.
The Mavericks beat Sacramento 120-106 Wednesday in a play-in game and will play the Memphis Grizzlies Friday for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
But ownership and management have said or done nothing to mitigate the fallout from trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February. They have made it worse, even as NBA commissioner Adam Silver has tried to soften the blowback from Mavericks and Dončić fans by defending a team’s right to make roster decisions.
The problem compounded with the Lakers’ rise in the standings and success with Dončić, and the Mavericks’ struggle just to get 10th place and a spot in the play-in game.
The problem took another exponential leap on Tuesday when Mavs general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison once again defended his decision to trade Dončić, and the attempt to assuage an angry fanbase failed.
‘I’ll say this again. Defense wins championships,’ Harrison said in another jab at Dončić, adding that he has no regrets over the trade.
ESPN’s reported that the idea to meet with local media was not Harrison’s idea and was told to do so. New Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, who is NBA royalty and in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions as an NBA executive, was also part of the Q&A session. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called the decision to speak with reporters stupid.
Saying nothing – at this specific moment – would’ve been the prudent choice. There’s not a lot of good that can come from defending the trade – continuing to do it while impugning a fan favorite whose return to Dallas as a Laker during the regular season was a joyful event. Even if it was painful for fans to see what they no longer have, they love Luka.
If the idea to address reporters this week came from ownership, as ESPN reported, it wouldn’t be the first time a relatively new ownership group made missteps early in their tenure. The Adelson-Dumont families bought controlling interest in the Mavericks from Mark Cuban in late 2023 and enjoyed a smooth transition as the Mavs reached the Finals in 2024.
But it’s not unusual for new owners to underestimate fans’ connection to a team. There is so much vitriol directed at Harrison and the Adelson-Dumont ownership group that former Mavs controlling owner Mark Cuban had to urge fans to focus on the 15 players in uniform playing against Sacramento in the play-in game.
It’s difficult to understand why a team would trade someone as gifted and loved by fans as Dončić, who turned 26 years old this season. Who knows if he will lead a team to a title and who knows if he will be an MVP, but he’s been in the conversation before – has finished in the top five three times, including third in 2023-24 – and will be in the conversation again.
Other factors have played into the lingering resentment fans have for the trade. While the Mavericks received Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick from the Lakers, fans look at the draft capital Utah received from Minnesota (the equivalent of five first-round picks) for Rudy Gobert or what Brooklyn received from New York (five first-round picks) for Mikal Bridges. If you’re going to trade Dončić, you need more in return.
Then, injuries decimated Dallas’ season. Of course it makes sense to see what the Mavs can be when Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, Caleb Martin and Dwight Powell can be healthier alongside Christie, Klay Thompson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Naji Marshall.
For now, a sizable and vocal portion of the fanbase has lost faith in management. It’s a bad place for a franchise to be, and that’s why Harrison and Welts talked with reporters. But the timing wasn’t right, and the message missed its target.
But Harrison was right about one thing he told reporters.
‘My responsibility to the fanbase is put a championship caliber team on the floor,’ Harrison said, ‘and we’re going to be judged by wins and losses.’