The Dallas Mavericks’ trade of Luka Doncic didn’t make sense from a basketball standpoint, and it apparently makes even less sense from a business standpoint.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported Thursday that the Mavericks are expected to lose a ridiculous amount of money as a result of trading away their franchise superstar Doncic. MacMahon says that the Doncic trade will likely cost Dallas dozens of millions in revenue this season as well as an anticipated nine figures in revenue (more than $100 million) over the next several years.
In the report, MacMahon cites “dwindling crowds, plummeting merchandise sales, and sponsors severing ties with the franchise” as the driving forces behind the massive expected loss for the Mavericks. You can read MacMahon’s full report here.
The Mavericks torched any and all goodwill with their fans with February’s extremely unpopular trade of their five-time All-NBA superstar in Doncic (who just returned to Dallas on Wednesday for the first time since the trade). The move itself was bad enough, but Dallas brass (including GM Nico Harrison and governor Patrick Dumont) made sure to publicly trash Doncic on his way out as well.
On top of that, the Mavericks have alienated their fans further with several other questionable moves since the Doncic trade, including raising ticket prices and seemingly trying to erase the legacy that Doncic built in Dallas.
One of the other members of the Mavericks front office recently made a promise to the team’s unhappy fans. But based on the continued sentiment within the Dallas area, those fans (along with many sponsors) may just be gone for good.
