Mavs CEO Pledges to 'Earn' Trust Back from Fans After Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis Trade

Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts is confident the organization can win back fan trust after trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a package for Anthony Davis.

Speaking on KFAA-TV in Dallas during Tuesday's broadcast of the Mavs game against the New York Knicks, Welts said they are going to "earn" trust back from the fans by building a team "the right way" to win championships.

It's a herculean task that Welts and the Mavericks front office have given themselves to appeal to fans. The aftermath of the Dončić trade has not been kind to Mavs decision-makers.

The first game at American Airlines Center following the trade saw hundreds of fans gather outside to protest. Chants calling for the firing of general manager Nico Harrison have been heard at events in the Dallas area.

Some Mavs fans said they were allowed to cancel their season tickets after the trade, though fan disinterest didn't stop the team from raising prices on season-ticket packages for 2025-26.

Harrison explained the decision behind the trade to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, saying he believed "defense wins championships" and adding Davis improves their chances of reaching that goal.

It didn't help that the key player Dallas got back in return for Dončić immediately got hurt in his first game with the team. Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds in 31 minutes against the Houston Rockets on Feb. 8 before suffering a groin injury. He did return to the lineup on Monday, finishing with 12 points in 27 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets.

While Davis was out of the lineup, the Mavs lost Kyrie Irving for the season when he tore his ACL against the Sacramento Kings on March 3.

There has just been a snowball effect of bad luck for the Mavericks since moving on from Dončić. They are currently outside of the play-in picture with a 35-38 record, though they are only one game back of the Phoenix Suns in the loss column for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.

Welts, Harrison and the other key decision-makers better hope their plan pays off because they just went to the NBA Finals last season with Dončić as their best player.

If it doesn't work out, the Mavs risk falling back to where they were before adding Dončić in the 2018 draft. They were coming off back-to-back losing seasons and had no real long-term franchise building blocks on the roster.