This article expresses exactly what i feel as non-basketball fan. He was the household name, our golden boy and they just gave him away. Heartbreak isn’t even the right word. We are beyond devastated.
Clearly the league is involved in this. No right minded GM or even any somewhat coherent human being would make this trade. And the “haul” is non existent. Blatantly rigged/corrupt/influenced deal that will leave a stain on the NBA and a long lasting darkness in this city
The thing about Babe Ruth, and this is a common misconception, is that it was done on a whim (to finance a play production). In reality, the Red Sox had financial problems and were were basically doing an A's/Marlins style teardown, selling off pretty much everyone even slightly expensive. The bulk of the Yankees team that won their first championship in 1923 was made of ex-Red Sox, not just Ruth.
“That probably wasn’t the worst thing the FOX corporation ever did.” True. The worst thing the FOX corporation ever did was cancel Firefly. But I feel your pain!
Was the FOX Corporation in charge when Pedro Martinez was traded for DeShields? Because that was pretty awful, too, even if nobody realized at the time just how bad it was. I grew up in So Cal and was a huge Piazza fan (read: I had a huge crush on him). To hear he was traded because Butler didn't like him is baffling. Butler was like 47 years old in 1988 (or so he looked to me, a wise 7 year old in that glorious year), so trading someone fans loved to placate a fossil is unconscionable. Perhaps if Piazza had stayed in L.A. I would have made more of an effort to follow the team as life changed and I found myself in another time zone.
Pedro for Delino was before Fox, just a good ol' bungle because they thought Pedro was too small to be strong enough for a major league pitcher. That was probably a whooosie.
The Mavs have always been 3rd or 4th on my list of Dallas pro sports fandom after the Cowboys and Stars. They are now not even on my radar. Unbelievable!
I’m no longer a basketball fan, haven’t been for years, but this piece made me think of a topical hockey story: that of Marc-Andre Fleury and his departure from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Full disclosure: I am a Penguins fan, but at the time of MAF’s trade, I wasn’t following sports—I had different surrogate activities I guess. So I don’t know the lore around the trade, other than that MAF wanted to stay and Jim Rutherford wanted him to go.
All this to say, I’m not equating Luka (about whom I know nothing) to MAF. But he would be fortunate, perhaps, to follow in MAF’s footsteps in the sense that everywhere he went, the Flower seemed to propagate fan love and that specific strain of sports fan joy.
I’m freaking rambling, Robert. Sorry about it. Good article!
I will literally never root for this team again. You don’t trade the best player to ever play for a franchise as he’s entering his peak for a bag of nickels.
Just absurd. Congratulations Nico - you’re going to go down as the most hated person in Dallas sports history.
'People don’t ultimate care that a trophy is sitting behind some display case somewhere; they care about the stories they can tell about where they were when their team won it all, and how happy they were to see those players celebrate what they had earned.'
Seeing Jamie Benn play in person in 2011-2012 made me and my wife new hockey fans. Buying low with a team in bankruptcy that would soon be resuscitated by Gaglardi and Nill was more just dumb luck. Jamie Benn smashing dudes and scoring goals was the real reason. We ditched our Cowboy seats and never looked back. The difference was why. There was an earnest quality to Benn and ice hockey that has never faded. Seeing #14 hoist the Cup would make me cry like a little kid with a skinned knee. I don't think seeing my beloved childhood Raiders or childhood A's would match it.
I don't watch sports for the nerd math or the rubber chicken graphs. I also don't discount the value of useful analytics.
I remain an unapologetic Benn fan to this day. He earned it and it's a seemingly illogical standard that doesn't apply to any other player.
Tiffin succinctly and perfectly captured why I love sports and, specifically, hockey.
Thank you, Robert, for putting this in such crystal-clear terms. The Mavericks still have some good players but I probably won't watch them anymore. Because Luka was the true glue of that team.
This article expresses exactly what i feel as non-basketball fan. He was the household name, our golden boy and they just gave him away. Heartbreak isn’t even the right word. We are beyond devastated.
😭😭😭
Clearly the league is involved in this. No right minded GM or even any somewhat coherent human being would make this trade. And the “haul” is non existent. Blatantly rigged/corrupt/influenced deal that will leave a stain on the NBA and a long lasting darkness in this city
The thing about Babe Ruth, and this is a common misconception, is that it was done on a whim (to finance a play production). In reality, the Red Sox had financial problems and were were basically doing an A's/Marlins style teardown, selling off pretty much everyone even slightly expensive. The bulk of the Yankees team that won their first championship in 1923 was made of ex-Red Sox, not just Ruth.
Whereas this isn't tanking. It's just (????)
That's a good point. Maybe new Mavs ownership is about to put on an extravaganza?
“That probably wasn’t the worst thing the FOX corporation ever did.” True. The worst thing the FOX corporation ever did was cancel Firefly. But I feel your pain!
Ah yes, that's it.
Was the FOX Corporation in charge when Pedro Martinez was traded for DeShields? Because that was pretty awful, too, even if nobody realized at the time just how bad it was. I grew up in So Cal and was a huge Piazza fan (read: I had a huge crush on him). To hear he was traded because Butler didn't like him is baffling. Butler was like 47 years old in 1988 (or so he looked to me, a wise 7 year old in that glorious year), so trading someone fans loved to placate a fossil is unconscionable. Perhaps if Piazza had stayed in L.A. I would have made more of an effort to follow the team as life changed and I found myself in another time zone.
Pedro for Delino was before Fox, just a good ol' bungle because they thought Pedro was too small to be strong enough for a major league pitcher. That was probably a whooosie.
Bring back the Darkness music for this trade.
The Mavs have always been 3rd or 4th on my list of Dallas pro sports fandom after the Cowboys and Stars. They are now not even on my radar. Unbelievable!
Great read.
I’m no longer a basketball fan, haven’t been for years, but this piece made me think of a topical hockey story: that of Marc-Andre Fleury and his departure from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Full disclosure: I am a Penguins fan, but at the time of MAF’s trade, I wasn’t following sports—I had different surrogate activities I guess. So I don’t know the lore around the trade, other than that MAF wanted to stay and Jim Rutherford wanted him to go.
All this to say, I’m not equating Luka (about whom I know nothing) to MAF. But he would be fortunate, perhaps, to follow in MAF’s footsteps in the sense that everywhere he went, the Flower seemed to propagate fan love and that specific strain of sports fan joy.
I’m freaking rambling, Robert. Sorry about it. Good article!
A lot in common there, actually. MAF was beloved (and is), and he'd just won a Vezina! That trade helped their cap a bit, but it still felt wanton.
Never, ever been a fan of basketball, so I didn’t realize that Jerry Jones owns the Mavs…
May be the most idiotic trade in Dallas's sports history. Just shockingly stupid
I will literally never root for this team again. You don’t trade the best player to ever play for a franchise as he’s entering his peak for a bag of nickels.
Just absurd. Congratulations Nico - you’re going to go down as the most hated person in Dallas sports history.
'People don’t ultimate care that a trophy is sitting behind some display case somewhere; they care about the stories they can tell about where they were when their team won it all, and how happy they were to see those players celebrate what they had earned.'
Seeing Jamie Benn play in person in 2011-2012 made me and my wife new hockey fans. Buying low with a team in bankruptcy that would soon be resuscitated by Gaglardi and Nill was more just dumb luck. Jamie Benn smashing dudes and scoring goals was the real reason. We ditched our Cowboy seats and never looked back. The difference was why. There was an earnest quality to Benn and ice hockey that has never faded. Seeing #14 hoist the Cup would make me cry like a little kid with a skinned knee. I don't think seeing my beloved childhood Raiders or childhood A's would match it.
I don't watch sports for the nerd math or the rubber chicken graphs. I also don't discount the value of useful analytics.
I remain an unapologetic Benn fan to this day. He earned it and it's a seemingly illogical standard that doesn't apply to any other player.
Tiffin succinctly and perfectly captured why I love sports and, specifically, hockey.
Thanks, dude. Good shit.
Thanks R Dell. This stuff means something to people, and teams can't escape that. Appreciate you.
Dear Miriam:
Your casino project is DEAD!!!!
Yours truly,
Dallas
Pure. True. Awesome.
Thank you, Robert, for putting this in such crystal-clear terms. The Mavericks still have some good players but I probably won't watch them anymore. Because Luka was the true glue of that team.