Mavs Fans Furious: Rick Welts Addresses Unprecedented Rift Between Team and Supporters
The Dallas Mavericks betrayed their fanbase like no team has ever betrayed their fans before by trading Luka Doncic.
In the late hours of February 1, the Dallas Mavericks shocked the world by trading franchise centerpiece and icon Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. As he broke the news, ESPN reporter Shams Charania even wondered if the trade was real.
The initial reaction around the league was harsh. Mavericks’ fans called for general manager Nico Harrison to be fired, they staged a funeral outside of American Airlines Center, and insisted that they were no longer fans of the franchise.
As the dust has settled, Anthony Davis’ long injury and Kyrie Irving’s torn ACL have done little to calm fans down, and the resentment is still immense.
Rick Welts breaks his silence on the trade
While Harrison seems to have been the architect of the trade, the Mavericks’ new ownership group led by Patrick Dumont signed off on the deal, seemingly without understanding the social implications of the trade.
As the Mavericks lost to the New York Knicks on Tuesday, 128-113, CEO Rick Welts broke his silence and addressed fans, sort of.
“I’m listening every day to how fans are feeling about everything, not just the trade,” he said on the broadcast.
“And I think I think you know when they get to know this ownership group, when they get to know what they’re all about, I really do think you’re gonna see all the ingredients for success here and the commitment to reach that success.”
By adding Davis into the fold, a healthy Dallas team can compete, although they swapped a fantastic 25-year-old for a pretty good 31-year-old, closing their window once Davis reaches the end of his prime.
“You’re gonna get to know me as a glass-half-full guy,” Welt continued. “I think what this really proved to me was the emotional connection between our fans and this team. It’s extraordinary. Unlike anything I’ve seen in my 47 years.”
While Welts admits that the damage done was bigger than he expected, he seems to think it can be reversed with a title.
“It’s a trade. The wonderful thing about our business is these things have a scorecard, right?” he finished.
“Time, wins, and losses will tell whether the deal was a good deal or a bad deal. I just am gonna to promise our fans right now we’re gonna earn back whatever trust we have lost or whatever concerns they have. We’re gonna earn it back because we’re gonna do this the right way.”
Only one thing can fix the damage done to Mavericks’ fans
Fans have made it pretty clear what they want: Harrison’s head on a silver platter. That’s not going to happen, but they’d settle for the next best thing if the Mavericks were to fire him.
The Mavericks’ new ownership group took the young player who led them to just their third ever Finals appearance and sent him to a bitter rival for a questionable (at best) return that will likely have their title window closed in the next three seasons.
The Lakers, meanwhile, will be in the mix for at least the next decade.
Fans have called the front office tone-deaf, which is an accusation they would certainly deny, but it’s worth pointing out that Welts made an appearance on the Knicks’ broadcast, not the Mavericks’ one, and made his comments at Madison Square Garden, where he and the rest of the front office is safer from jeers and taunts from the Texas fans.
