Of all the sights you might expect at a Mavericks home game, Luka Doncic wearing Lakers colors probably wouldn’t have cracked the list before this season started. But there he was, back in Dallas, rocking purple and gold like it was normal — and for a lot of Mavs fans, it was anything but. 

But perhaps the most unexpected sight from his emotional return wasn’t anything the All-Star did — instead, it was seeing Mark Cuban, the former Dallas Mavericks owner, looking absolutely distraught during a thunderous round of "Fire Nico!" chants.

Blindsided and Baffled

From the second the news broke about the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers, most Mavs fans assumed there had to be some logical explanation. Why would a team part ways with a generational talent who seemed destined to join the Mount Rushmore of Dallas hoops legends? 

It turns out, logic may not have been the main ingredient in this deal. And it wasn’t just fans left scratching their heads — Cuban himself claims he was blindsided.

As the story goes, Cuban insisted he had nothing to do with moving Doncic. He’d sold the team to Patrick Dumont and the Adelson family back in December of 2023. By the time Nico Harrison, the Mavericks’ general manager, gave the green light to trade Doncic for Anthony Davis and assorted pieces, Cuban no longer had any say in the matter. 

According to Chandler Parsons, when he texted Cuban that he was "confused" by the move, the ex-owner replied, “That makes two of us,” basically saying he was just as confused and blindsided as the rest of us.

"Fire Nico!" Chants

Fast-forward to Luka’s return game in Dallas. The sellout crowd was buzzing, torn between wanting to celebrate the player who once wore their colors and venting frustration at the front office that orchestrated the blockbuster move. It didn’t take long for those feelings to bubble over into the now-infamous chant: “Fire Nico!”

Cuban was right there, caught on camera shaking his head. At one point, he even buried his face in his palms. To say he looked exasperated would be an understatement. This wasn’t your typical stoic sports executive reaction — this was raw emotion.

That frustration wasn’t anything new. Fans have been yelling "Fire Nico" pretty much nonstop ever since the trade happened back in February. Some were even tossed out of games for refusing to quiet down. But this one hit differently — it was Luka’s first game back in Dallas, and there were so many people chanting that security couldn’t really do anything about it.

Cuban’s Take on the Trade and New Ownership

Cuban hasn’t been shy about calling out what he sees as the core issue behind the Luka trade: a fundamental misunderstanding of who Luka is — not just as a player, but as a person. 

In a recent interview on The Stephen A. Smith Show, he pointed to the cultural disconnect between Doncic’s Balkan roots and how the Mavericks’ leadership perceived him.

I mean, look, everybody saw him: It wasn't like he was ripped and had a six-pack. But what I think — what the biggest mistake was in trying to understand Luka is he's from the Balkans, right? He's Slovenian. And you look at Jokic, who's Serbian, and you look at Serbian players in general, there's just a different mindset, right? They look at the game differently, they look at life differently. They're emotionally — the guys that I've gotten to know from that region of the world are different. And I think that was what was not considered as fully as it should have been: that you've gotta understand what people are like, what their backgrounds are like, who they are personally, what their families are like, how they interact with other people.

He’s made it clear he wouldn’t have done the deal. When GM Nico Harrison called him to let him know it was happening, Cuban said his response was basically, “You’re telling me this is done, not asking me, right?” When Harrison confirmed, Cuban said there was nothing more to talk about — he didn’t agree with it then, and he doesn’t now.

Cuban’s also been critical of the return package, saying the Mavericks didn’t get nearly enough back for a player of Doncic’s caliber. He even described it as trading a “new hot operating system” for an older one. 

He’s also said multiple times that the new ownership isn’t made up of "basketball people," a comment that reportedly hasn’t gone over well with Patrick Dumont — but Cuban’s not backing down. In his eyes, this trade wasn’t just a misstep; it was a complete misread of who Luka Doncic is and what he meant to a franchise.

The Ongoing Fan Fallout

For Mavs fans, this saga is far from over. The trade itself was a shock, sure, but watching Doncic walk into the arena wearing Lakers colors was like rubbing salt in an already deep wound. The front office tried to sweeten the night by handing out Luka t-shirts and playing a tribute video, but the crowd’s mood wasn’t easily swayed.

It didn’t help that Doncic looked emotional, too, as if he himself couldn’t believe how quickly his relationship with Dallas had turned upside down. Meanwhile, the “Fire Nico!” chants roared on, growing louder each time play stopped. 

And it’s not like the noise is going to die down anytime soon. Fans aren’t just going to forget what happened here — not when the guy you traded away is now leading a serious title contender. The Lakers look locked in with Luka, and if they go on a deep playoff run, every win is going to feel like a reminder of what the Mavs gave up. 

That’s the kind of thing that lingers, especially in a city that was already questioning the front office’s direction. If anything, the pressure on Nico Harrison is only going to grow. 

What’s Next for the Mavs?

Mark Cuban may no longer be the majority owner, but his connection to the franchise still runs deep. He still holds a minority share and continues to be a lightning rod for both criticism and attention. When he shakes his head courtside, it’s a reminder of just how little control he actually has these days. And some fans who once loved his passion now see him as a symbol of what went wrong.

For now, the Mavericks march on under Nico Harrison and new ownership, while Doncic suits up in Lakers gear, ready to chase the next chapter of his career. But the memory of Cuban’s head-in-his-hands moment at Luka’s revenge game — those “Fire Nico!” chants raining down — is going to stick around for a long while.