2 weeks Ago By Katherine Walsh
DALLAS Mavericks have ramped up security after general manager Nico Harrison was subjected to death threats following Luka Doncic's trade. Franchise superstar Doncic's blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis rocked the NBA world - and the heartbroken, angry Dallas fanbase. The Mavericks plan to beef up security for their first home game since Doncic 's trade , according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Extra measures have been put in place to protect Harrison and staff while the Mavericks play against the Houston Rockets at 3pm E.T on Saturday . Harrison, the man who signed off on the move, has reportedly received death threats and racial slurs in its aftermath.
Therefore, the 52-year-old public enemy No1 will not be in his normal seat in the stands and a full-time security team is protecting his home. READ MORE ON DONIC Many fans took out their anger in protests, with some even holding a symbolic funeral for Doncic outside American Airlines Arena. The widespread belief among supporters is that the Mavericks got fleeced in the deal for giving up their 25-year-old generational leader.
But it seems that some people have taken things too far and things could get a little wild this weekend. The protests are not surprising. The Doncic trade was that stunning.
Most read in Basketball Players of his age and calibre are almost never traded unless they specifically demand it, and by all accounts Doncic was ready to spend the rest of his career in Dallas. Harrison tried to defend the trade return of Davis by saying "defense wins championships". Reporters relayed concerns about Doncic's conditioning and upcoming contract, but that might have just fanned the flames further.
Notably, Harrison was nowhere to be seen during Davis' introductory news conference with the Mavericks on Friday. Dallas also turned comments off during their YouTube stream of the Davis conference and have limited comments on their Instagram account. MacMahon suggested that Harrison isn't solely to blame for Doncic's trade.
He told The Hoop Collective Podcast: "Fans are so mad at the Mavericks, and frankly at Nico specifically, "I don't believe Nico acted alone. I do not believe that. But he's the one who's taking the heat.
" Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, meanwhile, was all smiles while he took questions sitting next to Doncic his Lakers introduction. Doncic is now expected to make his Lakers debut on Monday night against the Utah Jazz . The Slovenian star was also set to splurge on $15m on a new home before he was suddenly traded.
Los Angeles received Doncic, Maxi Kleber , and Markieff Morris in the trade. Read More on The US Sun The Mavericks received Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick. Utah were also involved in the trade, receiving Jalen Hood-Schifino and a 2025 second-round pick.
The NBA signed an 11-year deal with three networks for the league's rights from the 2025-26 season. And there will be no games on TNT for the first time since the network launched in 1988. The Walt Disney Company will continue to show the league with 80 regular-season games across ESPN and ABC.
They will also show around 18 playoff games from the first and second round, a Conference Finals series for 10 of the 11 years, and remain the home of the NBA Finals. NBC will return as an NBA broadcaster for the first time since 2002. The network will show up to 100 games per season across it's channels and Peacock streaming service.
It will also be the home of NBA All-Star and show approximately 28 playoff games from the first and second round. NBC will show one Conference Finals Series for six of the 11 years, rotating with new broadcaster Amazon Prime. Amazon will show 66 NBA regular-season games including one on Black Friday.
The streaming service is also the home of the latter stages of the NBA Cup and the entire Play-In Tournament. Prime will also broadcast around one third of the playoff games in the first and second round..
