Before the Luka Doncic trade, Jason Gallagher and Master Tesfatsion were both Mavs fans with ties to North Texas.
DALLAS — If you talked to Dallas Mavericks fans in the 2024 NBA Finals, many would say it was the best of times — if you talked to those same fans on Feb. 1, when news of the Luka Doncic trade broke, many would say it was the worst of times.
Now, with the Mavs winning the 2025 NBA Draft lottery for the first overall pick, fans finally have something to smile about — or do they?
Master Tesfatsion is a sports journalist and media personality who grew up in Irving. He’s been sounding the alarm on X, filled with optimism since getting over the shock of the initial trade. With the lottery pick, Master cheered, “To have a talent like Cooper Flagg and being able to pair him up in the frontcourt with Anthony Davis and with Dereck Lively. I think it’s, it sets us up tremendously, not just for next year, but for the next 10-20 years.”
Here’s his reaction to the pick:
Jason Gallagher is a director and producer of some of the best sports podcasts out there right now. Despite the lottery win, he’s still in despair, adding, “I have a whole family lineage of Dallas fans and, and we’re all in the same kind of boat of still kind of pissed off, still kind of depressed.”
Here’s Jason’s reaction to the trade:
Master and Jason, friends for years, represent the huge chasm between Mavs fans and what they’re feeling now. “We’ve been texting back and forth for months now about this whole situation,” Master began.
That disagreement starts with the Mavs’ general manager. Jason insists, “Just because Nico Harrison tripped and fell his way into the No. 1 pick. Does not mean that what Nico Harrison did was right.”
Master counters, “But he has shown in a very quick manner that he can build a roster. And now you give him a number one pick and a lot of tradable assets that he has now to try and build around this team.”
For many fans, they would rather lose with Luka than win without him. Jason explained, “I think Dallas had this unique perspective of like, oh, it’s not always just about the winning, it’s about the journey too. And so that’s why it’s been so, um, I’ve been so vocal about it.”
For the positive fans, they’re not concerned about suspicion that the lottery is rigged or speculation that Harrison may not draft Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick. Although he says he’s out on the Mavs for now, Jason did emphasize, “I’m happy for people like Master. I’m happy for people that stuck it out, you know what I mean?”
Master represents a different group of Mavs fans who say, “I’m supporting these guys through thick and thin because they got Dallas on their chest and they’re playing their tails off, and I feel like it’s my duty as a Dallas sports fan and as a Mavs fan to also support them and encourage them. So, I’m still here and I will always be here,” adding, “They say loyalty never fades away, right?”
Though fans, like Jason, who have turned away, disagree.
“You’ve got fans that are loyal, you know, it’s honestly been a fascinating thing to watch. It’ll continue to be a fascinating thing to watch. I’ll say this, that I think for me, the most common Mavs fan that I can tell is the type that stuck it out, but absolutely despises Nico Harrison still. That is the most common fan.”
To which Master begged us to send a message to his friend, pleading, “I absolutely love Gallagher. That’s my dog, and I know we’re on the opposite ends on the track on this whole situation, but I’m pleading for him. Come on back home.”