Feb. 2 will be the first anniversary of the league-altering trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Dallas Mavericks have seemed cursed since then, and Doncic has become the face of one of the greatest franchises in sports. While the stories have slowly shifted to the fate of both franchises, the scar of betrayal is still green in Doncic’s heart, and fans saw that on Saturday.

On his second visit to Dallas since his trade, Doncic and the Lakers pulled off one of their most spectacular comeback wins of the season. After two dominant quarters, LA went into the halftime break with a 13-point lead. However, the Mavericks made a surprising comeback in the third, outscoring the Lakers 35-14. They had a 14-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

The Lakers quickly recovered to snap the Mavs’ four-game winning streak. However, it was a video from the end of regulation that quickly hit the headlines among fans. As Doncic threw the ball away after the buzzer, he completely ignored his former coach, something which has become a regular occurrence since the infamous trade. Jason Kidd stood right behind Luka, but the Lakers star ignored him and walked away for the post-game handshakes with the Mavs players.

Doncic ignoring his former coach didn’t go unnoticed by the fans. The conversation quickly picked up on social media. While a fan claimed “Kidd was not involved at all,” others were not ready to vindicate the Mavs coach. They alleged that Kidd had a hand in one of the most notorious trades in NBA history.

Fans pick on Jason Kidd for betraying Luka Doncic after viral moment

The Mavs head coach and Doncic had developed a close relationship since Kidd took the coaching job. Fans believe Kidd’s involvement, if at all, was unexpected from Doncic’s side since he himself wasn’t aware of the trade. For a fan, Jason Kidd back-stabbed Doncic.

“Luka trusted Kidd. I think that is one of the most painful betrayals on Luka’s part. He did not expect Kidd to stab his back.”

Kidd has largely been stoic about Doncic’s trade. Even when reporters asked him about the trade ahead of the game, he said that the Mavericks had moved on. He further added that even trading a player of Doncic’s caliber was “just the business of basketball.” He said his team had “to move forward.” A fan picked up comments and said that “Kidd was involved for sure. You can even tell by his post-game conference answers.”

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Perhaps it’s Kidd’s stoic outlook about the heartbreaking trade that has left fans upset with him. That sense of anger has obviously increased, especially now when the Dallas’ best player is a rookie. “Waiting for the day Kidd gets fired,” captured the anger of fans across the city who are now blaming Kidd, who they believe imagined a fresh look for the Mavs.

The Lakers benefited a lot in the trade and got a franchise player without giving up much. They could have possibly pursued the trade and paired Anthony Davis with Doncic in a deal that could have sent Kyrie Irving to the Lakers. It was one of the reasons that a fan felt that the “Dallas Mavericks chose Kyrie Irving” over Luka. Sadly, so far, it has proven to be a terrible calculation.

There is no evidence to prove that Jason Kidd had any involvement in the trade. Nico Harrison previously clarified that Kidd had no idea. However, it is not entirely baseless for fans to conclude that the Mavs GM and ownership wouldn’t pull the trade on a whim without consulting the head coach.