But Dallas's stunning about-face with its franchise player may have hit those closest to home harder than anyone. Mavericks fans, shocked and hurt by the trade, came out in droves to protest the deal outside of American Airlines Arena before Sunday's hockey game between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets.

From what we can tell, Mark Cuban didn’t have anything to do with the trade that will define the career of the general manager he hired. Nico Harrison acted on his own. For that matter, the Adelson family may have forked over $3.