Wembanyama strongly sides with Mavericks fans amid Luka Doncic trade controversy

The Dallas Mavericks couldn't reach the All-Star break at a more perfect time of the year. Not only was more than half of the team in street clothes in their last game against the Miami Heat but almost every center on the roster will be sidelined for at least the next month due to various injuries.

Without Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and newcomer Anthony Davis, the Mavericks have surprisingly won four of their last five games. Still, as the regular season begins to heat up, the lack of size available will hurt the Mavs in big-time games.

While Davis' injury all but confirmed what every fan knew to be true about the Luka Doncic trade, Max Christie's recent surge into the Mavericks rotation may prove to be a saving grace. Christie has yet to score under 15 points since playing in Dallas, and he has brought the perfect energy off the bench to help the team get back in the win column before the break.

Despite Christie's recent play and Davis' first game as a Mav, the All-Star break has brought yet another magnifying glass on the Doncic-Davis swap. Media availability for star players has been at an all-time high this weekend, and San Antonio Spur's phenom, Victor Wembanyama, voiced his thoughts on the surprising Doncic trade.

Wembanyama feels for Mavs fans amid Doncic trade fallout

"What really strikes me is how Mavs fans are hurting," Wembanyama said in response to how he felt about the Doncic trade. "Two weeks after, it's still the craziest trade I've seen."

There's no doubt that Mavericks fans were hurting at the time of the trade and are still hurting despite the trade happening over two weeks ago. To make matters worse Davis' injury happened in his debut game as a Mav, which has only reignited old feelings for Maverick fans.

Wembanyama would later go on to consider Dallas still a contender despite understanding fans' feelings over the last few weeks. While Wemby may play for San Antonio, his comments have given fans another insight into what some of the top names in the league thought when they saw Doncic being traded.

Despite Wembanyama playing for a rival team, this trade affects him just as much as it affects the rest of the league. Wembanyama and the Spurs were beginning to reignite the Dallas-San Antonio rivalry, which was bound to stay hot for multiple years, considering how young Doncic and Wemby were.

After trading away Doncic, the Mavericks haven't only traded away a young superstar, but the future to a new Spurs-Mavs rivalry that was destined for greatness. A Davis-Wembanyama showdown is something not a lot of Mavericks fans had on their radar at the beginning of the year, but it's now become a sight to see for many.

Unfortunately for fans, the Davis-Wemby matchup may have to wait until next season considering how long Davis will be sidelined for. Dallas is set to face off against the Spurs two more times this season in a back-to-back showdown on March 10 and 12.

Fans have yet to know if Davis will suit up for those games, but they will likely need to wait until next season or a potential post-season matchup.