NBA veteran blasts Mavericks for ejecting fans in midst of Luka Doncic trade drama

After a disastrous few days for this Dallas Mavericks organization in the aftermath of the ill-fated Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap, they continue to catch more and more criticism from fans, analysts, and even former players and coaches. They fell to the struggling Sacramento Kings on Monday, a game in which the Mavericks let up 129 points after the front office spammed "defense wins championships" as the primary motive in trading for Davis. He is now out for several weeks after sustaining an adductor strain in his first appearance for the Mavericks.

This would have been a bad loss if Dallas was still a contender, considering the recent blockbuster trade in which their opponents were involved. Sacramento traded De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal that netted them Zach Lavine and three picks, which is arguably a better haul than Dallas got for Doncic. Understandably, Mavericks fans are still livid about the Doncic-Lakers deal, and their emotions were the cause of some major controversy during the Monday night game.

Several fans were ejected by Dallas security in the American Airlines Center during their clash with Sacramento. Two fans in particular were escorted out for showing "Fire Nico" signs, a reference to the Mavericks' controversial (at best) GM and his questionable (at best) moves as of late. Chants broke out, and more people were kicked out of the arena. The organization's act of trying to silence dissent has prompted many people to call them out for their handling of the fanbase's anger. One outspoken person was 17-year NBA veteran Lou Williams, remembered fondly by fans of multiple teams for being a dynamic scorer with a legendary crossover dribble.

Williams didn't mince words with his take on the situation. When discussing the fact that these fans were ejected for Fire Nico signs that contained no profanity, he had this to say: "That is part of the fan experience...No profanity, no disrespect...that is part of being a fan. That's what makes this game great...I can be displeased with decisions that [a franchise] makes, and I can protest that peacefully...the idea of stopping this or kicking people out is going to be a PR nightmare that [the Mavericks organization] can't even imagine."

Lou Williams is as neutral an observer as exists in this situation, and his impassioned take is a great example of how glaringly obvious it is that Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumont are unqualified for their current roles. The trade happened – that cannot be undone, nor will it ever be undone. Luka Doncic will play his prime in another uniform. But what has to be adjusted for is their understanding of the fans.

What they did is a crime in sports management; it wasn't just the player that Dallas sold off, but the person. Doncic had become a part of the fabric of Dallas sports fandom. 90% of jerseys in that arena were Doncic jerseys on any given night, and they traded him not just for a weak haul but one where the main star is already out for an extended period of time, which was a concern with Davis from the jump.

Dallas is going to take years to recover from this trade, but they are doing themselves no favors with how they are handling the backlash.