The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – Hour 2: "Zas Dropped The Ball" (feat. Nick Wright)

Date: November 11, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz
Guest: Nick Wright

Episode Overview

This hour dives deep into the fallout from the Dallas Mavericks’ controversial front office shake-up and the Luka Doncic trade, with passionate, unfiltered takes from Dan Le Batard, Nick Wright, Chris Cody, and Greg Cody. The crew debates team ownership responsibility, the wounds inflicted on fanbases by monumental decisions, Mark Cuban’s culpability, and ponders just how quickly a storied franchise can lose its soul. Alongside that, Nick Wright brings some personal news, and the group veers into the murky overlap of gambling scandals in professional sports and poker, offering inside knowledge and reflective banter. As always, the tone swings from searing rants to playful jabs, with memorable stories and a little family news sprinkled in.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Mavericks' Organizational Implosion

• Nick Wright’s Opening Rant on Nico Harrison’s Firing (01:40–03:43)

  • Nick Wright condemns the move to make Nico Harrison a “scapegoat” for the disastrous Luka Doncic trade.
  • Asserts the “poisoning of a well” by new ownership, emphasizing how the franchise has “thrown away all of Mark Cuban's goodwill” (02:30).
  • Warns that blame shouldn’t land solely on Harrison: “Responsibility...does not die at his doorstep. That goes well above him” (02:51).

• Dan on Fanbase Fallout and Ownership Accountability

  • Dan predicts the anger will now turn from Harrison to Patrick Dumont and the rest of the Mavs’ new leadership: “The atmosphere in that building is not over...this team sucks” (03:43–04:08).
  • Wright underscores how irreparable the damage is unless Cooper Flagg becomes a generational superstar: “You wreck a generation of fans here. You wound kids with this in a way that Cooper Flagg gets that” (04:50).

• Mark Cuban's Role and Motivation

  • The group discusses Cuban’s choice to sell and his claim of wanting to remain involved:
    • Dan: “He sold the team to these people who very clearly have no interest in basketball...He sits there as if he’s some kind of victim” (05:12).
    • Chris Cody: “You know who makes decisions? People that write the check. You got the check. It's over” (06:04).

Enter Nick Wright—Grandpa News & Pop Culture Bants

• Personal Update: Nick Wright Becomes a Grandfather

  • Nick shares that he’s on “Team Grandpa” due to his son’s paternity leave, joking how his new life stage clashes with his persona: “It's got to be so confusing to people...that guy's a grandpa? Nobody understands it. I'll be honest, I don't totally understand it” (08:34).

• Greg and Ethel Merman Tangents

  • Quirky sidebars include references to Broadway legend Ethel Merman, keeping the show in its “perfect demo” for long-time listeners (06:31–07:17).

Gambling, Poker, and Scandals in Sports

• Nick Wright Dives Into Current Scandals (11:33–14:00)

  • Nick frames the gambling issues embroiling several sports:
    • “The FBI, the NBA investigation, the mafia...all of it seems pretty dumb” (11:43).
    • Observes that baseball’s scandal has gone “less noticed,” yet could lead to “lifetime bans.”

• Poker Rigging—Firsthand Stories (12:21–14:00)

  • Chris Cody offers perspective as someone involved in high-stakes poker, detailing the complexities and vulnerabilities of home games, the legality of rakes, and the prevalence of collusion.
  • Cautions on game safety: “Whenever you venture outside of the casino, you run the risk of different types of cheating” (13:04).

• Tales from the Table: Milan Game Gone Bad (21:17–22:53)

  • Chris recounts being the victim in a rigged poker game in Milan, with a dry, self-deprecating edge: “I played in a game that I am certain was rigged in Milan.” The anecdote underscores how such scams still happen, regardless of one’s experience.

Sports Betting Issues & Solutions

• Player Props and Regulation (24:54–29:18)
  • Chris Cody explains how legalized gambling makes it easier to catch anomalies but enlarges risk by allowing granular prop bets that are easily manipulated.
  • Suggests a solution: Only offer “overs” or impose low betting limits on non-superstar players. “That would fix a lot of this...but is really bad for the bettor” (28:00).
  • Nick Wright: “Superstars are uncontaminated because there's too much to risk, too much money involved” (29:18).

Return to the Mavericks: Blame, Motive, and Futility

• The Blame Game: Cuban’s Responsibility and New Ownership (32:31–39:58)

  • Chris Cody makes an analogy: Selling the family home and it being burned down, arguing no one could see every consequence coming. Dan counters that a franchise is a public trust with broader responsibilities: “Your home doesn't have fans...the franchise has millions and millions of people who care about it” (33:44).
  • Nick is skeptical of conspiracy theories tying casino motives to the Doncic trade, challenging Dan: “I really, really don't like when people bat their eyes at dumb conspiracies they don't believe...” (35:04).
  • The hosts agree that while Cuban can’t foresee every detail, his selection of buyers and his ongoing ambiguity about his role are worthy of scrutiny.

• Nick Wright's Summation of Fanbase Trauma

  • “What we have is a fan base that has been murdered...murdered in a way...there's been nothing like it since the dude who owned the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth because he wanted to make a play that I think Ethel Merman was in.” (38:46)
  • Nick piles on the hyperbole for comic and dramatic effect, cementing fan disillusionment.

Bet Talk: Chiefs, Shipping Container, Super Bowl Draft Setup

• Betting Segment (40:23–42:52)
  • Nick Wright offers the crew a $2,500 bet: if the Chiefs beat the Broncos by 3.5, the “shipping container plus Lewis” splits the pot.
  • They tease a future Super Bowl champion draft with a white Corvette as the wager between Dan and Nick.
  • Chris Cody clarifies exclusions and laughably misidentifies staff—more show inside humor.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nick Wright on the Mavs:
  • “Historic poisoning of a well...One man was made to be the scapegoat on and the face of when he's not the only one responsible for this.” (02:00)
  • “Ownership did that, and there's a carcass in the street and it'll never work again.” (02:35)
• Dan Le Batard on Cuban:
  • “He sold the team to these people who very clearly have no interest in basketball...He sits there as if he's some kind of victim.” (05:12)
• Chris Cody on Team Sale:
  • “You know who makes decisions? People that write the check. You got the check. It's over. There's nothing for you to say.” (06:04)
• Nick Wright on Grandparenthood:
  • “I'm with you on Team Grandpa. You and me. I need to brush up on the Ethel Merman news because we're not getting younger, boys.” (07:37)
• On Poker Life Lessons:
  • Chris Cody: “You should not be able to be scammed more than twice by the same group.” (20:43)
  • “I played in a game that I am certain was rigged in Milan...But I did that to myself.” (21:17–22:34)
• Nick Wright on Fan Suffering:
  • “What we have is a fan base that has been murdered in a way I honestly think is nothing...since the dude who owned the Red Sox, sold Babe Ruth because he wanted to make a play that I think that Ethel Merman was in.” (38:46)
• Chris Cody on Prop Bets & Detection:
  • “People don't realize that any market that there's typically very low volume on that all of a sudden has huge volume on it—that always means there's inside information.” (26:00)
• Show Banter:
  • “He sounds like Ethel Merman. Get me Ethel Merman.” (06:31)
  • “My home has fans.” (33:55)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Mavs Fallout and Scapegoating – 01:40–06:27
• Personal News: Grandpa Nick Wright – 07:17–10:58
• Gambling & Poker Scandal Talk – 11:33–22:34
• Fanbase Trauma & Cuban Debate – 32:31–39:58
• On-Air Bet Offers & Future Super Bowl Draft – 40:23–42:52

Tone & Takeaways

The Dan Le Batard Show remains as fiery, irreverent, and densely informed as ever. This hour, driven by Nick Wright’s intensity, is notably frank and at times almost mournful about what the Mavs’ mismanagement means for fans—yet it’s interspersed by wry asides, signature self-deprecating humor, family moments, and inside jokes. Even complex topics—scandal, ethics in gambling, the heartache of losing a generational player—are dissected with the candor and comedy that have made the program a must-listen for sports and culture fans alike.

For new listeners: This episode encapsulates the spirited, conversational depth and unpredictability that defines the Le Batard universe—sports, scandal, showmanship, and a little soft-shoe nod to Broadway.