Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Derek Fisher was booed by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban during his return to Dallas on Sunday.
Fisher drew the ire of Cuban and fans alike after he signed with the Thunder two months after being released from his contract with the Mavericks. The 38-year-old wasn’t given a warm welcome when he stepped into Sunday’s game shortly before it ended.
Mark Cuban made his intentions clear before the game.
“I’ll just boo him like hopefully everybody else,” the Mavericks owner said.
He certainly wasn’t alone. Fans in the stadium for the game on Sunday also booed Fisher as he made his way onto the court. The boos soon turned to cheers when the point guard received his first foul shortly after entering the game.
The tension between Mark Cuban and Derek Fisher started after the Mavericks owner signed the point guard to a free-agent contract on November 29. Fisher was released on December 22 after stating that he missed his family.
However, Fisher signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder roughly two months after parting ways with the Mavericks. Cuban said he felt betrayed.
Cuban explained to the Star-Telegram :
“My personality is to try and help somebody, particularly somebody that I thought one thing about, even if it didn’t turn out to be that way And so I was just trying to be nice and help. But usually when you help somebody, you expect some semblance of loyalty back. When you don’t get it, then it’s more disappointing.”
Mark Cuban added that he offered Fisher some positive advice prior to signing him. After the Mavericks owner took a liking to the point guard, he decided to sign him to the team.
“I thought I offered him some positive encouragement and advice, and then we signed him. So I expected a different turnout than what happened, and so that’s the way it goes. I have my big boy pants on, and that’s the NBA,” Cuban said.
Are you a fan of Derek Fisher? Do you think Mark Cuban should have booed the point guard during Sunday’s game?
[Top Image by Photo Works / Shutterstock.com – Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com ]
