The New Normal: A Recipe for Disaster in Dallas
From the moment they shipped out Luka Doncic to the slap in the face of the franchise at every turn, the Mavs have committed one public relations blunder after another. As faithful reader Don Newbury says, if Nico Harrison had a third foot, he’d probably shoot it, too. Even the general manager’s ode to Kyrie Irving after the latter’s season-ending knee injury came across as a veiled shot at Kyrie’s hermano in contrast.
The New Normal in Dallas
These are not Mark Cuban’s Mavs anymore. The latest evidence landed with a thud Monday after the revelation of a ticket price hike starting next season.
The Latest Evidence: A Ticket Price Hike
Granted, there’s never a good time to say you’re jacking up prices for at least the second year in a row, even if they’re below industry standards for the nation’s fourth-largest media market. But, given a wound to the civic psyche still so raw, this latest indignity is a little like wild dogs crashing your reception and the wedding planner handing you a bill for an animal show before you can clean the cake from your glasses.
Tone Deaf and Irresponsible
From here on out, simply assume the owners’ bottom line always comes first in any and all decisions.
The Golden Rule
Frankly, we should have figured this when the Adelsons bought in. Cuban learned as much when he discovered too late he’d no longer call the shots. He should have known better. Vegas people abide by the golden rule; namely, those with the gold rule. They’re not the sentimental type. For reference, see Albert Brooks begging Garry Marshall for the return of his wife’s gambling losses in “Lost In America” with an ad campaign inspired by “Miracle on 34th Street.”
The New Normal in Dallas: A Recipe for Disaster
Patrick Dumont isn’t the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, but he didn’t raise any red flags to the script Nico presented, either. Whatever else you may think of Cuban, who started all this by hiring Nico and selling out to the Adelsons, he reportedly tried to talk his GM out of the worst trade in Dallas sports history. Besides his unabashed status as a certified hoops junkie, Cuban, who came here with nothing but a hole in his floorboard, gets the locals. Dumont doesn’t. He’s just an out-of-state real estate developer trying to get his foot in the door of the biggest casino play in the nation if Dan Patrick would only take off the chain.
The Consequences of Getting It Wrong
Dumont is so removed from the basketball side, he was oblivious to the potential blowback from the community. For that matter, so was Rick Welts, the new CEO, and he’s in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Credited with creating the original Dream Team’s marketing campaign and the NBA’s All-Star weekend. A brand expert, yet he didn’t see the full impact of Luka’s. To be exact, Welts told our Brad Townsend he “probably underestimated the reaction.”
A Recipe for Disaster in Dallas
The only way I can explain it is, like Dumont and Nico, Welts isn’t from here. He made his bones in the Bay Area with Golden State.
The Consequences of Getting It Wrong
If it helps, Rick, think of the reaction from the fan base if your Warriors had traded Steph Curry when he was 25.
The New Normal in Dallas: A Recipe for Disaster
Luka is one of three players to make first-team All-NBA five times before turning 26.
The Consequences of Getting It Wrong
For the record, I reached out to the Mavs to see if Welts could talk about the price hike but was told no one’s available. In fairness, I wouldn’t want to talk about it, either. According to the release, the 8.61% average overall increase, on the heels of another hike in the new owners’ first season, was due to “ongoing investments in the team and fan engagement.” Even if you buy that explanation, how, exactly, does trading the face of the franchise equate with “fan engagement”?
The Consequences of Getting It Wrong
And what constitutes “ongoing investments in the team” if you no longer have to pony up the $345 million supermax contract due Luka this summer had he remained a Maverick?
The New Normal in Dallas: A Recipe for Disaster
Here’s a thought: What if they just said, “Hey, we get it. We didn’t before, but we do now. We see that we ripped your hearts out. We regret Nico saying you’ll get over it once we win big. We’re sorry we keep leaking stories about Luka’s conditioning and bad habits. Hookah Doncic? We know we can’t fix everything that’s gone wrong. Luka’s not coming back. Except on April 9th, of course. Get your tickets now! Oh, sorry. Where were we? Right. As a token of our sincere apology and a sign of our goodwill going forward, we won’t raise ticket prices for next season. In fact, as a show of faith in Nico’s vision, we won’t do it again until we win a title!”
The Consequences of Getting It Wrong
Unfortunately, it’s the sort of thing that only happens in movies. Sometimes not even then. As Garry Marshall would say if he were running these Mavs, we don’t have Santy Claus.
FAQs
Q: What is the new normal in Dallas?
A: A recipe for disaster.
Q: What is the latest evidence?
A: A ticket price hike starting next season.
Q: What is the golden rule?
A: Those with the gold rule.
Q: Who is Patrick Dumont?
A: An out-of-state real estate developer trying to get his foot in the door of the biggest casino play in the nation.
Q: Who is Rick Welts?
A: The new CEO, credited with creating the original Dream Team’s marketing campaign and the NBA’s All-Star weekend.
Q: What is the recipe for disaster?
A: A ticket price hike, public relations blunders, and getting it wrong.
