The Mavericks Disastrous PR Run Continues After Deciding To Raise Their Ticket Prices 8% For Next Season So They Can "Invest In The Team"
Tim Heitman. Getty Images.I think it's fair to say the last month has been nothing but a living hell for Mavericks fans all around the world. They had their franchise savior ripped away in a trade that to this day still makes no sense, the best piece they got from that trade looked incredible in his debut, got hurt, and hasn't played since. Then the team lost every other available center on the roster to injuries as the Mavs cratered all the way down to the 10th seed. They've had to listen to an insane amount of gaslighting from the front office and the team as they try and push this weird Luka narrative, all while witnessing him flourish with the Lakers as LA has now jumped to the 2 seed in the West and been one of the hottest teams in the entire league.
As I've blogged before, I don't care who your favorite team is, outside of Lakers fans I'm not sure how anyone couldn't feel for Mavs fans during this past month. It's been nothing but gut punch after gut punch and the sad news is I don't see how things change anytime soon. Sure maybe a deep postseason run will help, but probably not. Not when they can't go a day without seeing Luka/Lakers shit.
If there's one thing most will agree on, it's the fact that the Mavs have been a complete PR disaster during this whole fiasco. The immediate slandering of Luka once they traded him, kicking fans out of games for mouthing "Fire Nico", the CEO openly admitting they underestimated what the fan reaction would be, editing Luka out of promotional videos instead of just not including those clips altogether, every step of the way it's been the exact opposite of what a team should be doing in this situation.
Well, what if I told you they weren't done? Imagine a world where all of this is going on with the team and how the fans feel, and then you also make the decision to make them pay more for season tickets next season?
Yes, that's right. After all the shit the Mavs pulled at this deadline and everything that followed, they are now asking fans for more money
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This is the shit I'm talking about. How is there no one in the Mavs organization to step up and maybe suggest they should stop doing everything in their power to lose their entire fanbase? How is it every decision they make seems to be worse than the previous one? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills and I don't even give a shit about this team.
The reasoning for the increase? I mean give me a fucking break
The increases reflect ongoing investments in team and fan engagement, the team said in a statement.
Just think about this for a second. The Mavs, who were contenders when healthy this season, decided to completely gut the heart and soul of the roster, effectively making the team worse, and now they come back and tell you that as a fan, you have to spend more of your hard earned money on "investments in the team and fan engagement". Holy shit. Mind you, this same fan engagement also includes being kicked out if you voice your opinion on what a bozo Nico Harrison is.
Why would anyone pay more money to invest in a team and a roster that clearly does not give a shit about the fanbase? This isn't a situation where the team is like OK, we have Luka, we have pieces, but we need to spend more to get over the hump so this will help with that. No no, it's the opposite! Now it's more
"Hey fans, sure we just ripped the franchise player away from you and made the team worse when no fan on earth wanted that to happen, but how about you pay us a little more money so we can make improvements to the team?"
Again, how is there no PR firm advising the Mavs with this? Did they think the same fanbase that is basically boycotting the team would be down to give that franchise more of their hard-earned money? With how expensive it is to live right now? Talk about being completely tone deaf.
Sure, someone is going to have to come up with the money for Kyrie's next extension. But that's not the fan's problem. You just told them you traded Luka so you didn't have to pay him supermax money, so why not just use that? Last time I checked, their owners are billionaires, and now you're pulling shit like this so you can afford to improve the team? The Mavs aren't even a 2nd apron team this year and barely over the 1st apron (50K).
I truly can't really remember a situation like this where an organization continues to give a giant "Fuck You" to their own fanbase every chance they get. You'd think given all the reaction, that we'd be seeing the team do everything they can to win their fanbase back over, but maybe that's too much to expect from an organization that clearly is incapable of making a decision that isn't completely braindead.