When the notification of “Luka Doncic has been traded to the Lakers” popped up on people’s phones, NBA fans around the world quickly wondered if the news was real. It seemed hard to believe that the Dallas Mavericks would trade their superstar on the heels of a trip to the NBA Finals. Even basketball legends were left scratching their heads.
Mavs fans continually voiced their disgust with the trade — both right after it happened and in the time since. Four months later, the protests are continuing — this time with Hall of Famer Don Nelson, who coached Dallas from 1997 to 2005.
Nelson, who will be presented with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Award during Game 2 of the NBA Finals, explained the specific plan for his footwear on on Sunday night.
“Luka is my dear friend. As a matter of fact I’m wearing Luka’s shoes, his new shoes from Nike. Just got on the market. And I’m wearing them in protest of the trade from Dallas,” Nelson said. “I think it was a tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him. And I want everybody to know that.”
He will sport the Luka Dončić 4s and did not mince words on the message behind them.
“My philosophy was always, when you’ve got a great player, he’s yours for a lifetime. You don’t get rid of great players. When that happened, I was pretty disappointed,” Nelson said. “My philosophy was to always honor the great players, not trade them away.”
Safe to say, most, if not all, Dallas fans feel the same way.
