FRISCO - The damage done to the Dallas Mavericks franchise by the infamously lopsided trade engineered by ownership and the front office that sent young icon Luka Doncic to the long-hated (and long-envied) Los Angeles Lakers?
It continues to stun that the Mavs bosses Patrick Dumont and Nico Harrison continue to a) try to spin the narrative by whispering nasty things about the All-World player and b) sell short the aftershock destruction reverberating well outside of Dallas basketball.
How do we mean?
From the start, we labeled this ill-conceived trade - so shocking that even NBA GM's themselves who first saw it on social media assumed it was an early April Fool's joke - the "Herschel Reversal.''
That is to say, the Dallas hoops team just got hoodwinked on the same level as the Dallas football team did it back in 1989 when Herschel Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for such a treasure trove of assets that it literally built "America's Team'' into a three-time Super Bowl winner and "Team of the '90's.''
But the failed deal is about more than X's and O's. It's about emotion - and that's made clear by Luka's fellow local superstar CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys.
In a recent video with popular streamer Neon, Lamb was asked to comment on the Doncic trade and what it means to the city of Dallas.
"They killed the city with that one,'' Lamb answered solemnly.
How astute of Lamb, who in a 4-word video-going-viral obituary - "They Killed The City'' - makes it clear he's got the pulse on DFW emotion and passion and soul in a way the Mavs suits do not.
"They Killed The City.''
Ceedee speaks on Luka trade pic.twitter.com/PaNc4kmRZg
— Rak (@vvsrak) March 13, 2025
The Cowboys receiver added that like the rest of the sports world, he assumed that when he first saw the post on Twitter breaking the news, he assumed it was fake.
For the record, the Mavs received a fine-but-injury-prone player in Anthony Davis and one first-round pick ... when the track-record going rate for such a blockbuster deal should've netted Dallas four or five premium picks.
And that's if any trade at all that allows the rightful heir to Dirk Nowitzki to partner up with the "enemies'' in their regal purple and gold led by "King James,'' LeBron.
Harrison and Dumont keep saying things like "Time will tell.'' ... which means they're still not thinking or seeing or hearing right.
"Time'' doesn't need to "tell.'' Smart fans who truly care about the Dallas sports scene - like CeeDee Lamb - just "told.''
"The Killed The City.''
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This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 6:39 AM.