It's been over a week since the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade went down, but fan outrage in Dallas still hasn't dissipated. On Monday, some fans went to great lengths to make their feelings on the trade known.
As reported by ESPN's Tim MacMahon, two of these fans were ejected toward the tail end of the Dallas Mavericks-Sacramento Kings game at American Airlines Center. These fans were reportedly shouting "Fire Nico!" as the Mavericks were attempting shots at the foul line. One of these fans went on X afterward to claim that Mark Cuban, the minority owner of the team, returned fire.
"Mark Cuban was aggressively yelling at me. 'SIT THE F:/K DOWN!!!!!' over and over," the fan wrote. "Does anyone have the video???????"
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A few hours later, the fan posted a video in which he claimed to "completely obliterate" Cuban.
"Clearly, you pull no f***ing weight in this organization!" the fan said in his video. "Ain't nobody listening to your b**** a** any more!"
In his heated comments, the fan is presumably referring to the Doncic deal, which Cuban reportedly tried to prevent GM Nico Harrison from executing at the last minute, but failed to do so.
As per MacMahon, another pair of fans was ejected for bringing signs that collectively read "FIRE NICO." One of these fans went so far as to mouth these very words in a karaoke segment during a timeout in the third quarter.
Aside from Harrison, Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont was also on the receiving end of fan vitriol as he drew loud boos during the game. In an article published in The Dallas Morning News this past weekend, Dumont hinted that the team parted ways with Doncic as part of its thrust to win by "having the right culture."
Klay Thompson reacts to Mavericks fans expressing outrage at Luka Doncic's trade
The Mavs failed to secure a victory on this night of fan ejections as the Kings ended up winning 129-128.
After the game, Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson commented on the fan outrage in Dallas in the wake of the Doncic trade.
"You can acknowledge it and understand their frustration, because Luka was that great and he was homebred here," Thompson said. "It's not our job to get deflated because people are upset." [Timestamp - 2:17]
Despite Thompson's empathy, it will take some time before the heated reactions of Mavs fans cool down.
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