Can a franchise be bitter with a player they themselves moved on from?
The Mavericks certainly seem to think so. Not only did they trade their young superstar Luka Dončić and smear his name on the way out, but time and time again, they’ve demonstrated what not to do when you’ve made an unpopular decision.
We’ve seen them literally cover his face in Mavericks content and now they are trying to prevent his image from being anywhere near their stadium.
With Luka helping promote Overwatch 2’s newest season,
“Cowboys never die,” an advertisement with Luka’s face on it was on display near the American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks didn’t want to see the one they kicked out of town back in Dallas, even virtually. Mike Curtis of ‘The Dallas Morning News’ wrote in a recent article that the franchise requested the billboard be moved.
The popular video game franchise displayed a billboard featuring the Los Angeles Lakers guard just steps away from the home of the Mavericks after the team requested the advertisement be moved farther away, according to an email obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Genius marketing from the Overwatch 2 team to get a billboard of Luka in Dallas. He has a strong fan base there, and with the cowboy theme, adding Dončić to an ad makes sense.
The Mavericks need to start dealing with trading Luka more effectively because this issue is unlikely to go away. There will be countless articles, podcasts and most certainly documentaries on this trade and why it happened for years to come.
At the end of the day, Luka did nothing wrong, and this was a decision the franchise made on its own. Dallas has to own it, eat it and embrace it.
Like a Chinese finger trap, the more you try to resist, the worse it gets. Instead of letting the billboard be there, asking to take it down proves that it bothers them.
After a split, one is supposed to get better. Instead, the Mavericks are sitting around trying to convince us all that they have no regrets, while we are all forced to listen as we exchange darting looks to each other, trying not to laugh.
Luka has certainly taken the right approach to this breakup. He has used the Mavericks’ actions and decisions as motivation, transforming his body and getting in the best shape of his life.
Luka even signed a contract extension with the Lakers, securing the commitment from L.A. that he had never received from Dallas.
The Mavericks now have a core featuring Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg and they need to act like it. Enough of these petty actions and responding to anything Luka does that could be considered a diss to the franchise.
Dallas told a superstar future Hall of Famer he wasn’t good enough and sent him packing. Whatever he says or does is justified, and no one will ever side with the Mavericks on this one.
So, let it go Dallas and end your one-sided beef. It’s getting more and more pathetic by the day.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
