As the Milwaukee Bucks’ comeback mounted Monday at the American Airlines Center, so did the “Fire Nico!” chants, which disgruntled Dallas Mavericks fans have relentlessly repeated since now-former general manager Nico Harrison shockingly traded away international phenom Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
During the fourth quarter of a 116-114 loss that dropped the Mavericks to 3-8 this season, the chants echoed when Dallas players went to the free throw line down the stretch, including after P.J. Washington missed the second of three attempts at the charity stripe with 1.2 seconds left. If he had made all three, the Mavericks would have forced overtime.
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Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd explained before Wednesday night’s matchup versus the Phoenix Suns, Dallas’ first home game since Harrison was fired, that the “Fire Nico!” chants made his players feel “really disrespected.”
“That chant when we’re shooting free throws is very disrespectful,” Kidd said pregame. “Understanding that they got their point across, the fans, but we have to move forward. I understand the healing process for the fans, but these guys are playing hard. Ever since the trade, these guys have given everything. We were down to eight guys, but a lot of times we didn’t get credit for playing hard and finding a way to get in the play-in game with a lot of money in street clothes. And, again, we have a lot of guys that are in street clothes. We got over, I think, a hundred million dollars sitting on the sideline, and we’re still competing and we’re still in games, and we’re learning how to win.
“So I would hope that we start to get a little credit for that because these guys, they can hear those things, and they feel really disrespected, and it’s hard to keep guys here in this league when they start to think that the home team is not home, and it becomes a visiting place. So hopefully that changes tonight.”
Kidd was alluding to the fact that 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis and nine-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving are both sidelined by injuries at the moment. Davis is dealing with a left calf strain. Irving is still recovering from an ACL tear that he suffered on March 3.
To Kidd’s point, the embattled Mavericks snuck into the play-in tournament last season despite missing Irving when it mattered most and Davis being out for significant time with an adductor strain related to his previous abdominal injury.
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Washington agreed with Kidd’s assessment about the chants.
“I felt the same way,” he said pregame. “I felt like people weren’t really cheering us on — it felt like, from a player’s standpoint. Hopefully that changes and we just go out and get a win tonight.”
Mavericks forward Daniel Gafford was asked if home games became “less fun” with the constant “Fire Nico!” chants.
“I wouldn’t say it becomes less fun,” Gafford said pregame. “It is a bit defeating when it comes to the scenario that we went through the other night. But we just kept playing. We just kind of stayed locked in as a team. We know the times that are going on around the team right now and just the organization in general.
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“But our main focus is just coming out and just playing basketball. No matter what goes on outside the lines of the court, we just have to do our job at the end of the day.”
