by When Matt Zerai heard that his favorite team, the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic, their 25-year-old superstar, had traded on the Los Angeles Lakers on the weekend, he was destroyed.
“It had a bit of the feeling that I was lost a family member,” Zerai said. “Nobody exchanges a franchise player in their prime. They want to apologize about his conditioning and that he arrives. He literally took us to the final last year. ‘
He and a few friends have hatched a plan to organize a funeral for the franchise. They ordered a box, blue as one of the colors of the Mavericks, and had it delivered at night. They dressed in suits to save a gloomy tone. They held a moment of silence for American Airlines Center, where the Mavericks play, and where others had gathered in protest.
Participants shared their favorite memories of Doncic. Much of the anger was aimed at Nico Harrison, the general manager of the team. One sign had the acronym MFFL, which stands for Mav’s fan for life, crossed with red ink.
It was not the kind of reaction that fans would have for just every trade. But in the seven years since he was set up as a teenager from Slovenia, Doncic had merged with the identity of the team. His sweater was by far the largest seller of the team and was one of the 10 most popular in the competition in each of the last six seasons. He is one of the most sparkling players in the NBA, already a five -fold All Star, and led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season. He loved to play there and, despite a few whispers about dissatisfaction with his conditioning and dedication 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 stands for a complete rebrand that few saw coming.
“Winning everything fires, isn’t it? Or does it do? “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 is what is so dynamic and intriguing from a sports marketing position point. You have to say that If we do not win this year or next year, what is the marketing side of the company?
The Mavericks did not respond to a request to talk to someone from their marketing department. Doncic was scrubbed from the team website in a few days. A banner on which Doncic appeared the most prominent was removed from outside the Arena.
A few hours after the trade became official, the Mavericks placed an image on their social media platforms with Doncic’s face in black -white and a message that thanked him. A day later they placed a highlight video with the caption: “It was an honor to view the magician.” The comments about both messages have driven out the organization and accused her fans.
To understand the Vitrol, it is important to consider the history of Doncic with the fan base.
Doncic was taken with the third choice in the 2018 design when he was 19. He had already proven himself in professional basketball and dominated adult men as a teenager in Europe.
His first season with the Mavericks was the last season for the German star Dirk Nowitzki. Marketing experts believe in the interest of a unique brand identity – with Nowitzki and then Doncic, the Mavericks had it.
In 21 years at the Mavericks, Nowitzki won the most valuable player prize in the competition in 2007 and the team led to an NBA championship in 2011. The expression “Loyalty never fades”, appears on the statue of Nowitzki that the Mavericks set up outside their arena in 2022. On Sunday, near the basis of the statue, someone painted graffiti who called Harrison a “bum”.
“That quote is actually not a quote about Dirk,” said Jason Gallagher, a podcast producer and director who grew up in Dallas. “It was a quote about the identity of the Dallas Mavericks. That is really how it felt. Loyalty never fades. If you choose your husband, that’s your husband. “
In the nineties, when the Dallas Cowboys ruled the city, Gallagher recalls that he and his father went to Mavericks games. It was often cheaper than going to a movie. Those who chose to root for the Mavericks felt a relationship for 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 stated that he would now be a fan of Lakers. And while Gallagher has tires with the Lakers-Hij, the head of production is for a podcast company, partly founded by Lakers-Coach JJ Redick and has produced a podcast with their star LeBron James-considered his options. He lives in Oklahoma City, which has an exciting NBA team.
“In contrast to the Mavericks, I am not going to say yes to the first person who answers my phone call,” Gallagher said brutally.
Part of the fans’ connection with the team had also gone by Mark Cuban, who bought the Mavericks in 2000.
“Mark was so handsome, so fascinating, was so passionate,” said Carton, SMU’s director of sports management. He added: ‘He gave his heart and soul to the Mavericks and at the Dallas market. I think that has created that band. “
In 2023, Cubaan sold a majority stake in the franchise to the Miriam Adelson family, a casino tomagnate in Las Vegas who spent $ 100 million on President Trump’s campaign. Her son -in -law, Patrick Dumont, is the governor of the team, his top decision maker. Cuban had said that he would remain involved in the activities of the team, but this week he told the local reporters that he was not involved in Doncic’s actions.
In exchange for Doncic and two other players, the Mavericks Anthony Davis took over, a 10-time All Star; Max Christie, who is in his third NBA season; And a first round pick in 2029.
Carton said he thought to recover a good will, the Mavericks should familiarize their fans with their new players as quickly as possible and convince them that they are worth embracing. He thinks that a pivot of Davis and Kyrie Irving, the point guard of the Mavericks, will have to happen quickly.
“I would do tons of fan involvement and social media that try to involve them in the team,” Carton said.
Davis, said Carton, was able to frame himself as an innocent bystander who was also blind because of the trade, but still wanted to help the team win, “seen as less a mercenary.”
Hunter Ostdick had the days after the trade who had spent pity with other Mavericks fans at Celestial Beerworks, a brewery where he works. He pulled the founders of the brewery to make an IPA called Sell the Team, a common chorus for fans who are not satisfied with the direction that their favorite franchises have set.
The company started brewing the team -beer on Wednesday and will start selling it after it will be fermenting in two and a half weeks. The response of the partners of the brewery and the community, according to Molly Reynolds, a founder of Celestial Beerworks, has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It seems that Dallas is upset and wants someone to feel his pain with them,” she said.
Ostdick said he was no longer a Mavericks fan, but also that he was not sure how strong he would stay with that statement. Zerai, who helped the funeral on Sunday, said that he would not return to rooting for the Mavericks, even if the team won several championships with his new selection. They both think they can better follow the Lakers.
“It wasn’t really about the championship,” said Ostdick. “It’s about the man.”
Doncic grew up in Slovenia and spent his adolescence in Spain, but he embraced the attributes of Texas, which often wore cowboy hats and bolo tires on the way to games.
“He pulls himself up in the performed Camaro and the full Texan get-up,” said Ostdick, who was born and raised in Dallas. “He enjoyed being here.”
When Doncic landed in Los Angeles, the Lakers posted a video of him who said Hello to the supporters of his new team.
“What’s going on, Laker fans?” Doncic said. “I am excited in LA to meet you.”
The last word, “all of you”, a sign of a Texan dialect, hit Ostdick’s Mavericks fan Heart the most difficult. It was a memory of everything the team had with Doncic and everything it had lost now that he is gone.
