Luka Doncic's Mavericks return stirs the pot amid brewing drama

The Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic are set to make their second appearance of the season at the American Airlines Center on Easter Sunday, and given recent news of Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd knowing about the Doncic trade well beforehand, perhaps "Fire Kidd" chants could replace the once infamous "Fire Nico" chants in the arena.

It should be noted that Kidd ended up refuting the notion that he knew about the trade on Friday morning, as he was recently thrown into the fire by Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban on a podcast. Whether this is true or just a PR stunt by Kidd is certainly up for debate, but there's plenty of evidence pointing toward him knowing about the trade beforehand with Nico Harrison, even if he refuses to publicly acknowledge it.

For Mavericks fans' sake who actually paid for tickets on Sunday, hopefully Doncic ends up playing, as he suffered a hamstring injury on Thursday night versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, and MRI results still haven't come back. If Doncic ends up playing, it'll be a tough sight to watch in one aspect, as he'll likely torch a 24-52 Mavericks team, but on the other hand, fans still have a lot of love for Doncic and will want to see him on the court.

"Fire Kidd" chants could erupt when Luka Doncic returns

Being as far into the season as it is, Mavericks fans are ready for the season to end and to see how the NBA Draft Lottery plays out for them in May, as there's certainly not as much animosity surrounding the team compared to Doncic's first game back in the AAC last year. Anthony Davis has been traded, and Harrison has been fired, but Mavericks fans still following the team day-to-day have not taken kindly to the news of Kidd knowing about the Doncic trade beforehand.

As aforementioned, "Fire Kidd" chants or something of the sort could certainly break out at the AAC on Easter if Doncic starts draining step-back 3-pointers and carving up Dallas' defense with ease. It's hard to see these chants coming to the same effect as the "Fire Nico" chants did, as it's been over a year since the trade, but it's still the worst trade in professional American sports history, and many fans still won't get over it for a long time.

Mavericks fans still haven't got over the Doncic trade

The Mavericks have a beacon of light for their future in the form of Cooper Flagg, but fans have a right to be upset about the Doncic trade for as long as they want, even if it's not necessarily fair for Mavericks players and staff to have to still answer questions about it, or deal with hearing something like "Fire Kidd" chants during Sunday's game.

Again, none of this is guaranteed to happen on Sunday, especially since Doncic may not even play, and many fans have tuned out from the Mavericks at this point in the season. However, Doncic coming back to the AAC will magnify the consequences of the trade anytime he's playing against the Mavericks, so the organization will need to gear up for potential hostility from the fanbase, even on a holiday.