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The Dallas Mavericks faithful are still in some ways despondent over the shocking trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd says the fans are well within their right to express their sadness and frustration.
When the Mavericks traded Doncic, their franchise cornerstone, to the Lakers, Dallas fans let their voices be heard — and the sound they made was of nearly unanimous disapproval.
Some fans held a vigil-like ceremony outside of the Mavericks' home arena. Others opted to cancel their season tickets and promised to boycott games, and some even vowed that they would begin to support another team, including the Lakers.
Kidd, who Dallas general manager Nico Harrison said was not involved in the trade, spoke about the challenges that lie ahead in terms of regaining fan support following the departure of Doncic.
“Things that have taken place … our sympathy goes to the fans and understanding they can be upset,” Kidd said, via ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “But at the same time, as a coach, the guys that I have, we have to put them in position to be successful against Houston, and that's all I'm focused on.
“That's freedom of speech. That's why they are called fans. But for us, it's a matter of getting this to move forward, and that's what we have to do.”
Less than a year ago, Doncic led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for the first time since Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, and Co. won the championship in 2011.
This season, despite high expectations, has been less than ideal. Doncic got off to a relatively slow start and eventually went down with a calf injury in December, and the Mavs as a team dealt with numerous other injuries to key members of the roster.
As it stands, the Mavs are in eighth place in the Western Conference, 4.5 games behind the Lakers, who traded perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Anthony Davis to Dallas as part of the Doncic trade.
The Mavericks are set to play the Lakers twice more this season. They will travel to Los Angeles for a highly anticipated game on Feb. 25 and will host Doncic and the Lakers for the first time on April 9 in the teams' third-to-final game of the regular season. Doncic's return to Dallas certainly will be highly anticipated.
