Doncic Trade has Mavericks fans who feel they ‘lost a family member’

When Matt Zerai heard that his favorite team, Dallas Mavericks, had traded Luka Doncic, their 25-year-old superstar, to Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend, he was destroyed.

“It felt kind of like I lost a family member,” Zerai said. “No one deals with a franchisee in their prime like that. They want to apologize for his conditioning and about him who is gaining weight. He literally took us to the final last year. “

He and a few friends hatched a plan to host a funeral for the franchise. They ordered a coffin, blue as one of Mavericks’ colors, and had it delivered overnight. They dressed in suits to hit a gloomy tone. They held a moment of silence in front of the American Airlines Center, where Mavericks plays and where others had gathered in protest.

Participants shared their favorite memories from Doncic. Much of IRE was aimed at Nico Harrison, the team’s general manager. A sign had the abbreviation MFFL, which stands for Mavs fan for life, crossed out with red ink.

It wasn’t the kind of reaction that fans would have for just any trade. But in the seven years since he was drafted as a teenager out of Slovenia, Doncic had been merged with the team’s identity. His jersey was far the team’s largest seller and has been one of the 10 most popular in the league in each of the last six seasons. He is one of the most scintillating players in the NBA, already a five-time All Star, and led Mavericks to the NBA final last season. He loved to play there, and despite a few whispers about dissatisfaction with his conditioning and obligation to play defense, there was no reason to believe that he would not be the face of the franchise in the next decade.

Now the organization is facing a complete rebrand, which few came.

“Winning releases everything, right? Or do it? ”Said Peter Carton, director of sports management at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He added: “I don’t know if anyone knows the answer to it, and that’s what is so dynamic and exciting from a sports marketing point of view. You must say if we do not win this year or next year, what is the silver -lined marketing site of the company? How do we get back from this? “

Mavericks did not respond to a request to talk to someone from their marketing department. In a few days, Doncic was scrubbed from the team website. A banner that Doncic appeared most prominent was removed outside the arena.

A few hours after the trade became official, Mavericks released a photo on their social media platforms with Doncic’s face in black and white and a message that thanked him. One day later, they sent a highlighting video with the headline: “It was an honor to see the magician work.” The comments on both positions expressed the organization and accused it of betraying its fans.

To understand Vitriol, it is important to consider Doncic’s history with the fan base.

Doncic was taken with the third election in the 2018 draft when he was 19 years old. He had already proven himself in professional basketball and dominated adult men as a teenager in Europe.

His first season with Mavericks was the last season for German star Dirk Nowitzki. Marketing experts believe in the importance of having a unique brand identity – with Nowitzki and then Doncic, Mavericks had it.

In 21 years of Mavericks, the Nowitzki League’s most valuable player award in 2007 won and led the team to an NBA championship in 2011. The phrase “Loyalty never disappears” appears on the statue of Nowitzki, which Mavericks performed outside their arena in 2022. On Sunday , near the base of the statue, painted some graffiti calling Harrison a “bum.”

“This quote is actually not a quote about Dirk,” said Jason Gallagher, a podcast producer and instructor who grew up in Dallas. “It was a quote about the identity of Dallas Mavericks. It’s really how it felt. Loyalty never fades away. When you choose your guy it’s your guy. “

In the 1990s, when Dallas Cowboys ruled the city, Gallagher remembers going to Mavericks games with his father. It was often cheaper than going to a movie. Those who chose to root to Mavericks felt a kinship of the team that went beyond victories and losses, he said.

Gallagher said his 11-year-old son was angry when he heard about the trade, and then declared that he would now be a Lakers fan. And while Gallagher has ties to Lakers, he is production manager for a podcast company founded by Lakers coach JJ Redick and has produced a podcast with their star LeBron James-he is considering his options. He lives in Oklahoma City, which has an exciting NBA team.

“Unlike Mavericks, I don’t want to say yes to the first person to respond to my phone call,” Gallagher said naughty.

Part of the fans’ connection to the team had also been through Mark Cuban, who bought Mavericks in 2000.

“Mark was so Nacn, so engaging, was so passionate,” said Carton, SMU’s director of sports management. He added: “He gave his heart and soul to Mavericks and to the Dallas market. I think it created that bond. “

In 2023, Cuban sold a majority share in the franchise to the family to Miriam Adelson, a Las Vegas Casin Magnat who spent $ 100 million on President Trump’s campaign. Her son -in -law, Patrick Dumont, is the team’s governor, its supreme decision maker. Cuban had said he would remain involved in the team’s operations, but this week he told local journalists he was not involved in dealing with Doncic.

In return for Doncic and two other players, Mavericks acquired Anthony Davis, a 10-time gang all star; Max Christie, who is in his third NBA season; and a first round of election in 2029.

Carton said he thought Mavericks for regaining a good will, Mavericks would have to make their fans familiar with their new players as soon as possible and convince them that they are worth embracing. He believes that a turn to produce Davis and Kyrie Irving, Mavericks’ Point Guard, the franchise’s faces must happen quickly.

“I wanted to do lots of fan commitment and social media trying to get them involved in the team,” Carton said.

Davis, Carton said, could hit himself as an innocent spectator who was also blind -sided by the trade, but wanted to help the team anyway win, “to be seen as less of a mercenary.”

Hunter Ostdick had spent the days following the trading commissions with other Mavericks fans at Celestial Beerworks, a brewery where he works. He persuaded the founders of the brewery to create an IPA called Sell The Team, a common refrain for fans who were not dissatisfied with the direction their favorite franchise has taken.

The company started brewing the sale of the team beer on Wednesday and will start selling it after it has finished fermenting in two and a half weeks. According to Molly Reynolds, the response from the brewery’s partners and the community, a founder of Celestial Beerworks, has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It seems that Dallas is upset and wants someone to feel their pain with them,” she said.

Ostdick said he was no longer Maverick’s fan, but also that he was uncertain how firm he would stand by this statement. In contrast, Zerai, who helped arrange the funeral on Sunday, said he would not return to root for mavericks, even though the team won several championships with his new list. They both think they may start to follow Lakers closer.

“It wasn’t really about the championship,” Ostdick said. “It’s about the guy.”

Doncic grew up in Slovenia and spent his youth in Spain, but he embraced the prison of Texas, often wearing cowboy hats and Bolo tapes on the way into games.

“He pulls up in the start-up Camaro and the full Texan-get-up,” said Ostdick, who was born and raised in Dallas. “He liked to be here.”

When Doncic landed in Los Angeles, Lakers sent a video of him saying hello to his new team’s followers.

“What happens, lacquer -fans?” Said Doncic. “I’m in La excited to meet you.”

The last word, “y’all,” a brand of a Texan dialect, hit Ostdick’s Mavericks-Fan heart the hardest. It was a reminder of everything the team had with Doncic and everything it had lost now that he’s gone.