Protests, ejections and backlash - Inside the fallout from the Luka Doncic trade - ESPN

A MAN BY the name of Jake Reedy was drinking with friends at Local Public Eatery in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood of Dallas when his phone lit up in front of him. It was 11:12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1. Phones began to ping and buzz and light up across the dimly lit room. The whole bar, he said, saw the news at the same time. Luka Doncic? Traded?

«No one believed it,» he said.

Four minutes later, ESPN's Shams Charania followed up. It was real. In the dead of night, Doncic had been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, along with two other players for All-Star Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick.

Sitting at a table, processing the news, Reedy's eyes began to well. Later that night, walking to Skellig, another bar in the neighborhood, his mind began to race.

He ordered Sharpies, duct tape and poster board on Postmates, Ubered home and came up with a plan — futile though it would be. He got home at 1:22 a.m., took out a Sharpie and began to write down his thoughts. He took famous quotes and altered them. One read, «Talent wins games, but Luka Doncic wins championships.» Another read: «We should have never, ever let Luka Doncic play for the Lakers.» Another: «Mark, it was only $3.5 billion.»

The 27-year-old then walked to the American Airlines Center and duct-taped the poster boards on pillars in front of the main entrance of the arena. He placed another, «RIP Mavs, TOD: 11:23 pm Feb. 1 2025, 'I need a recovery beer,'» below the Dirk Nowitzki statue.

He wasn't alone. For three hours, he and dozens of other fans mourned the loss of their favorite star. One fan arrived around 3 a.m., Reedy said, threw his Mavericks jerseys to the ground and renounced his fandom.

Fans gathered somberly later on Feb. 2 in