As Luka Doncic made his West Coast debut Monday to the delight of Los Angeles Lakers fans everywhere, the Dallas Mavericks were fighting a different battle with their crowd as they hosted the Sacramento Kings.
With Anthony Davis out for the contest and an undetermined amount of time, Mavericks fans weren’t afraid to let the front office know what they thought of the trade that shipped out the former face of the franchise.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, boos broke out as Dallas and Sacramento battled in the second half while Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont returned to his courtside seat.
MacMahon added that some fans were escorted out by security at American Airlines Center, including two who were holding signs that read “Fire Nico.”
Nico Harrison, of course, is Dallas’s general manager who reportedly initiated the Doncic-Davis swap with the Lakers.
Dumont publicly doubled down on the deal Sunday. His comments were widely scrutinized as he seemingly took aim at Doncic’s work ethic.
Even with the signs being removed from the stadium, Mavericks fans continued to display their discontent in any way possible.
Tim Cato of All City reported that Mavericks game ops didn’t show any fans on the jumbotron for the entirety of the team’s return to Dallas on Saturday, and continued that approach through the first half on Monday.
But in the third quarter, fans got the chance to sing along to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody on the big screen — the first time post-trade that the crowd was shown — and one supporter got his money’s worth.
The fan mouthed — you guessed it — “Fire Nico” while on the jumbotron, forcing an immediate zoom out from the cameraman.
RJ Coyle of Dallas Morning News later posted a video of the fan being escorted out of the arena, as well.
The Mavericks had already made moves to combat potential protests, according to MacMahon. They had increased the level of security and law enforcement personnel outside the arena ahead of their return home.
There’s clearly some relationship reconstruction needed in Dallas, but short of a championship run led by Davis, it seems likely this Mavericks executive group made a deal they can’t recover from.
The Kings won the game 129-128 in overtime.
