Dallas Mavericks

Nico Harrison just made a shocking admission while discussing his blockbuster Luka Doncic trade ... saying he didn't realize how much fans in Dallas loved the 26-year-old NBA superstar!

The Mavericks general manager, who executed the Doncic for Anthony Davis trade in early February, met with media in Big D on Monday ... where he fielded questions about the crazy controversial move which saw the 5x NBA All-Star shipped to Los Angeles.

Harrison was asked whether he knew how beloved Luka was ... and to his credit, Harrison copped to not fully understanding.

Luka Doncic might want to look into an OtterBox sponsorship deal ... 'cause the L.A. Laker showed off how he handled the news of being traded from the Dallas Mavericks -- revealing he turned his phone into a cracked mess after chucking it.

Doncic did a sit-down interview with ESPN ahead of his playoff debut with the Purple and Gold ... in which he admitted he threw his iPhone once he hung up with his former squad.

While he didn't say how much effort he put into yeeting his cellular device, it was hard enough to do some damage. The top of the phone got the worst of it, but cracks were visible all over the back of the device.

Finally, something positive for Dallas Mavericks fans ... Kyrie Irving is droppin' new KAI 2 kicks featuring the team's colorway as a tribute to the franchise!

Irving -- who was traded to the Mavericks in 2023 -- and the brand ANTA unveiled the latest sneakers this week, featuring colors that honor his home, Dallas ... a city he's come to love.

The KAI signature kicks come in Mavs' blue and white -- symbolizing unity and loyalty that Kyrie says define him and the city -- along with a spiral design inspired by Dallas' Thanksgiving Square.

Luka Doncic's return to Dallas started with tears ... and ended with a win -- and a whole lot of points for the former Mavs superstar!!

The new Laker was back in Big D on Wednesday night for the first time since Nico Harrison and Co. jettisoned him to Los Angeles ... and while it was emotional, the 26-year-old showed what his old team was missing in a 112-97 rout.

The Mavericks played a special tribute to him before the game got underway -- and Doncic cried over the piece. He, though, quickly set his emotions aside and went out and eviscerated his former team.

Dallas Mavericks fans are still livid the team traded away their superstar, Luka Doncic ... and a group of fans are taking their displeasure to the streets -- 'cause TMZ Sports is told a billboard calling for general manager Nico Harrison's job is making its way around town before Wednesday's highly anticipated matchup with the Lakers.

Dallas Billboards -- in partnership with Southwest Mobile Advertising -- tells us an anonymous batch of donors reached out to them to commission the sign in opposition to the front office staffer and team owners, the Adelson/Dumont family.

The group told the companies they are "All for firing Nico and selling the team as a means of asking for accountability for the worst trade in the history of basketball."

The Dallas Mavericks want to show love for Luka Doncic ahead of his big return on Wednesday ... making shirts to share their appreciation for his time with the organization -- despite shipping him off to Los Angeles in a mind-boggling trade earlier this season.

The team revealed the fan giveaway hours before tipoff against the Lakers ... which read "Hvala za vse" -- Slovenian for "Thanks for everything."

The Mavs also plan to honor Luka with a tribute video at some point in the evening.

The Dallas fan who screamed "Fire Nico" in Nico Harrison's face on Monday night says his phone was taken and thrown to the ground shortly after the incident ... and now, he tells TMZ Sports he's planning to file a police report over the whole ordeal.

Chris Taylor said the wild, phone-smashing scene went down at American Airlines Center during the Mavs' tilt with the Nets ... roughly an hour or so after he got in Harrison's grill and stated he should be canned.

Taylor told us team and arena officials approached him and were furious with him over his interaction with Harrison. He says later, a man who he believes was affiliated with them sat down behind him ... and got physical with him when he whipped out his phone to video the scene.

Dallas Mavericks fans clearly still loathe Nico Harrison for trading away Luka Doncic ... one actually yelled right in the GM's face on Monday, "Fire Nico!" -- repeatedly!

The scene unfolded just before the Mavs' tilt with the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center in Dallas ... as Harrison -- who jettisoned Doncic to the Lakers back on Feb. 1 -- was saying hi to some people who had shown up for the game a bit early.

The 52-year-old shook one person's hand, and then as he turned to go back to Dallas' locker room area -- a Mavs backer yelled that he should be canned.

Dallas Maverick fans are still pissed about Luka Doncic getting traded to the Lakers ... but Mark Cuban is reiterating he had NOTHING to do with it -- claiming he was promised he'd maintain control of basketball operations when he sold the team, but that didn't happen.

Cuban -- who has a net worth of $5.7 billion -- took time to respond to a fan on Facebook who said he should be "run out of Dallas" as a result of the shocking transaction ... firing off in the comment section to defend himself.

He told the fan that when he sold the team 16 months ago to Miriam Adelson, he expected to run basketball operations for the squad, but "Someone obviously changed their mind."

Luka Doncic really is an L.A. guy now -- the Lakers' newest superstar was name-dropped in  Kendrick Lamar's song with Playboi Carti!!

The Compton rapper -- currently riding high after his beef with Drake -- mentioned the Slovenian guard during his verse on "GOOD CREDIT," a track from Carti's new album, "I AM MUSIC."

In the song, K. Dot says, "The numbers is nothing, the money is nothing, I’ve really been him I promise, see Kenny been heavy out west and I carry the weight n****, I’m Luka Doncic."

The Luka Doncic trade news blew up the internet ... and it apparently nearly broke Shams Charania's phone, too!!

ESPN's senior NBA insider joined "The Young Man and The Three" podcast this week and told the show's hosts, Kenny Beecham, Cam Johnson and Tommy Alter, that after he was first to report Dallas had jettisoned its superstar to Los Angeles -- his phone was "a mess."

"I had up to, like, 300 text messages," he said.

1:22 PM PT -- Kyrie Irving just went live on Instagram to address the bad news ... saying while it's not the outcome he would have hoped for, he's fully committed to recovering and getting back on the court.

Uncle Drew seemed to be in good spirits as he showed off propped-up leg in a compression wrap ... and thanked his fans for their support following the ailment.

Their teams might be on the opposite ends of the wildest trade of the season, but LeBron James and Luka Doncic are sending positive vibes Kyrie Irving's way ... after the Mavericks star suffered a torn ACL during Monday's game.

The heartbreaking moment went down with under three minutes left in the first quarter of the Mavs' contest against the Kings. As Irving drove to the hoop, his knee buckled and he fell to the ground in pain.

Even with Kyrie struggling to put weight on his left leg, the 36-year-old knocked down two free throws before exiting the matchup ... which the team called a "left knee sprain."

It was later revealed on Tuesday his season was over after tearing his ACL.

The hits keep coming for Dallas Mavericks fans ... just a couple weeks after the org. shockingly traded away superstar Luka Doncic, it revealed its now jacking up its ticket prices too.

The Mavs said in a statement Monday because of "ongoing investments in the team and fan engagement" ... they're raising prices for 2025-26 season tickets by about 8.5 percent.

The team insisted fans will still be getting a deal if they purchase the tix instead of going to the secondary market -- claiming Mavs supporters can save up to 23 percent by locking in for the long haul.

Luka Doncic knows how to get on his new fan base's good side -- he hooked up Laker Nation with free parking for L.A.'s big matchup with the Dallas Mavericks!!

The dope gesture from Doncic (and Jordan Brand) was revealed before the Slovenian hooper's "revenge" game on Tuesday ... which marked the first time he lined up against his former team.

Tons of spectators flocked to Crypto.com Arena for the tilt  ... and some who drove to the venue were met with a pleasant surprise -- "Free Parking. Courtesy of Luka Doncic."

Luka Doncic was once the face of the franchise, but now the Dallas Mavericks refuse to even show his mug -- with the team editing the Slovenian hooper out of a hype video weeks after trading him to Los Angeles.

The Mavs dropped a new promo on Friday to seemingly get heartbroken and shocked Dallas backers to care about the team again ... but the big takeaway was the fact that any clips featuring Doncic included lazy editing -- like turning his body into a shadow and throwing a logo over his face for good measure.

While the plan might have been to get folks to focus on the players still on the squad, the effort had the opposite effect ... as fans quickly shared screenshots to call the team out.

The Mavericks fan who got tossed from a game this week for a heated exchange with Mark Cuban tells TMZ Sports he feels like his rights were violated ... and he's now considering taking legal action.

The clash with Cubes went down on Monday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas ... after Chris Taylor decided to try to start an anti-Nico Harrison chant during the Mavs vs. Kings tilt.

As Taylor -- who was upset over the way the Dallas GM traded away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month -- began riling up a crowd around him ... Cuban got up from his courtside seat and told him to stop.