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Ben Rogers is a North Texas native and longtime radio host, currently co-hosting The Ben and Skin Show weekdays on 97.1 The Eagle. He’s a co-founder of The Haymaker Network, a YouTube video podcast network built around DFW sports, and a co-owner of Rollertown Beerworks in Frisco. Rogers submitted the below opinion piece on the ill-fated Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis trade.
Someone recently asked me why Mavs fans hate Anthony Davis. So let me answer in my patented, long-winded fashion. Pull up a toilet and have a read.
First of all, I don’t believe that to be the case — that Mavs fans “hate” AD — like, at all, but there’s a lot to unpack here.
Mavs fans aren’t anti–Anthony Davis. They’re pro-Luka Doncic. They watched a 25-year-old baby basketball Jesus, a global icon, the chosen one, Neo in The Matrix, a highlight magician (who was blessed by King Dirk), drag their team to the Finals, then saw him traded for someone six years older who infamously cannot stay healthy.
Ever.
And the dude who orchestrated the trade did it in such a cold-blooded corporate fashion. Nico Harrison was in the process of clearing out anyone who might push back against his wishes, making sure nothing stood between him and the final say. In this case, the final say belonged to an ownership group that had just arrived and knew virtually nothing about the game of basketball.
Then BOOOOOM!!! A franchise-altering move like it’s a little Q1 cost-cutting memo. Jokes at the press conference like it’s small talk in the moments just before a clinically ruthless company-wide Zoom meeting where hundreds of employees are about to get laid off and replaced by robots. Brutally transactional energy in a generational moment.
Bottom line: ice-cold corporate bullshit infiltrated our basketball castle and stole our city’s joy like a thief in the night. A truly senseless betrayal.
That disconnect is where the anger lives. It never made sense to anyone on Earth. That’s why getting extremely familiar with Anthony Davis’ extensive big-and-tall wardrobe is so soul-crushing.
It’s not personal with AD. At all. Even though he can’t be on the court very often, it’s easy to see that he’s a phenomenal talent. Defenses show him immense respect and surround him almost immediately when he gets the ball. The term “gravity” is used quite a bit around Davis, and I think it’s a great way to describe how he impacts play on the court. Even though he’s bigger and bulkier than he was in his prime, and far less explosive or dynamic, every team in the NBA would love to have him.
But for Mavs fans specifically, every time AD gets hurt, which seems to be approximately every 17 minutes, it’s a reminder of that disgusting trade. It’s like a Poncho’s Mexican Buffet-powered, intestine-betraying cheek-flapper that won’t quite clear the room, even with an industrial-strength, Cooper Flagg brand air freshener.
And just when it felt like you could finally open a window, trade AD, and move on, Lauri Markkanen’s dangerous uniform slammed that window shut and Roy Munson’d AD’s hand right at the trade deadline. Yikes.
Scab removed, wounds reopened, pitchforks and torches dusted off. I get it.
But the silver lining is this: we gon’ be aight.
Why? Well, because friends: Young Coop is the truth. Holy good googly moogly, he’s the real MF’n deal.
And besides, many experts felt like the best return for AD would be found in the off-season anyway. And when he was on the court, it was going to be hard to tank. Now that’s going to be easy. (Also, to that end, just keep Kyrie Irving rehabbing that bionic knee in sweatpants the rest of the way. No need to bring him back now.)
What I’m saying is that the hardest part of this disaster is already behind us. We’ll endure this, too. The future is insanely bright in Dallas because Cooper Flagg is a certified monster. A truly generational superstar. A final boss, the sun the roster orbits, and somehow (miraculously for a battered and bruised fan base), yet another franchise messiah in training.
If you know a Mavs fan, just allow them to be unwell here for a bit longer. This latest Luka trade reminder just needs to be processed like all the heartbreak before it. However, each one becomes a bit easier with time.
And no one hates AD; he’s one of the best players of all time. He’s kind of a victim here, too. He deserves a fresh start in a new market. He’ll get that, this off-season, I suspect.
Just give this latest sting another few days to process. This too shall pass.
Like a kidney stone.
