Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers reflected on the Luka Doncic trade shortly before his team defeated the Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling 116-114 victory on Monday night.
“Yeah, I thought it was AI just like everyone else,” Rivers said. “I was shocked.”
If Rivers thought what’s been described as the most shocking trade in NBA history was artificial, the same logic could’ve applied to a stunning display in the third quarter of Monday’s game, had it not been for visual evidence.
A teenager wearing a gold Los Angeles Lakers version of Doncic’s No. 77 jersey sat next to Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont for roughly five minutes while the two shared a conversation Monday. The scene was perplexing, given Dumont was a strong supporter of general manager Nico Harrison’s decision to deal Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for a package headlined by Anthony Davis.
Mavericks
The Dallas Morning News had a brief conversation with 18-year-old Nicholas Dickason late in the fourth quarter to gather more information on his interaction with the Mavericks’ lead decision-maker.
Dickason, a native of Preston Hollow and freshman student at SMU, is part of an enraged sector of the Mavericks’ fanbase who’ve voiced their displeasure with the franchise’s decision to trade Doncic. He said the brief conversation Monday stemmed from an inappropriate gesture he made toward Dumont following the Mavericks’ opening-night loss to San Antonio on Oct. 22.
“When I was on the way out, I was talking smack to Patrick and ended up flipping him off on my way out of the game,” Dickason told The News. “My dad saw me flip Patrick off and was like, ‘That’s not OK. The next time you’re at a game, you have to apologize to Patrick.”
Dumont smiled several times throughout the conversation and was receptive to the apology, Dickason said, while stating the governor admitted to a level of remorse for the unpopular decision.
“He said he was trying to do what’s best for the organization,” Dickason said, “and ‘Sometimes you have good intentions and you make mistakes.’ We all do it.”
Although a portion of Dickason’s talk with Dumont centered on the trade and his history as a Mavericks fan, which he’s been since he was “4 or 5” years old, the message he wanted to share was his apology.
“I shouldn’t have flipped him off on opening night,” Dickason said. “Heat of the moment thing, and I had to go apologize for that. He was very receptive and very open to talking about the Mavericks.”
On Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2
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