MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It will likely go down as one of the most shocking and controversial trades in NBA history. This month, the Dallas Mavericks traded away star player Luka Doncic in the middle of the night to the LA Lakers. This sent shockwaves across the sports world, and the city of Dallas was hit particularly hard. For more on this blockbuster trade, we are joined by Paul DeBenedetto with member station KERA in north Texas. Hi, Paul.
PAUL DEBENEDETTO, BYLINE: Hi.
KELLY: How big a deal was Doncic in Dallas?
DEBENEDETTO: Huge (laughter) - the first thing you should know, he's a generational talent. He's 25, a global star from Slovenia. I mean, he led the team to the NBA finals last year for the first time since 2011, and really, he's just massively popular in a town where historically the Dallas Cowboys have really been the primary team, right? But the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in almost three decades, so, I mean, Dallas fans really saw him as their best hope for another championship.
KELLY: So I'm gathering fans in Dallas are not happy about this. Is that putting it mildly?
DEBENEDETTO: Not thrilled, no. Not great - (laughter) It's not going great. I mean, a lot of criticism, a lot of memes on social media, hundreds of people protesting outside the stadium - I mean, people really thought that he was going to be on the Mavs forever. I mean, for some perspective, like, outside the stadium, there are statues to two people - hockey legend Mike Modano from the Dallas Stars and Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki. Now, here's one fan, Chris Kratovil, who was protesting near those statues last weekend.
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CHRIS KRATOVIL: Moments have been stolen from this fan base. Moments have been stolen from this city. Luca's statue was supposed to go right there, right next to Dirk's statue, and we're not going to have that now.
DEBENEDETTO: I mean, fans went as far as to put a casket outside of the American Airlines Center, which is a little dramatic. But, I mean, we're two weeks into this trade now, and a lot of fans are basically in revolt. There were fans holding up signs demanding that the team fire the general manager, Nico Harrison. Those fans were ejected after the team said they violated the NBA's code of conduct. But, I mean, that anger is real. And I kid you not, I mean, I saw a truck driving around this town with a big sign on the back that says, fire Nico, sell the team.
KELLY: What are the Mavericks saying? How do they explain this?
DEBENEDETTO: So I mean, just as background, the main piece of this trade was Luca to LA for Anthony Davis. He's a 31-year-old All-Star, and the Mavericks say Davis is going to set the team up for success in the short and the long term. Here's Harrison in a press briefing with coach Jason Kidd.
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NICO HARRISON: He fits right along with our time frame to win now and win in the future. And the future, to me, is three, four years from now. The future - 10 years from now - I don't know. I don't think I - they'll probably bury me and J by then, or we bury ourselves (laughter).
JASON KIDD: Ourselves, yes.
DEBENEDETTO: So I mean, overall, though, people really don't think the team got back enough value for the trade to even make sense on paper, right? So there's been lots of speculation. A lot of fans are afraid that the majority owner, Miriam Adelson, wants to relocate the team. She's the wife of late Las Vegas casino magnate and billionaire Sheldon Adelson. The Mavs have denied that up and down, but when something like this happens, it gets people talking.
KELLY: That is Paul DeBenedetto from member station KERA in Dallas. Thank you, Paul.
DEBENEDETTO: Thank you.
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