Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has described the devastating impact of the Luka Doncic trade on the city.
The city of Dallas is in the early stages of moving on from a development that altered the city. The beloved Mavericks, who housed Dirk Nowitzki for 21 years, traded away 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
This sparked widespread fan protests and demands for the sacking of GM Nico Harrison. None of that will undo what’s done – Luka Doncic is no longer the flagbearer of the Mavericks.
This happened less than a season after a season that ended with a Finals appearance. The potential of years lost is what hurts the most for many fans.
The city is still reeling and their franchise won’t provide any immediate relief after season-ending injuries hampering them. This has been felt outside basketball, as revealed by Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
While not a basketball player, NFL star CeeDee Lamb has seen how the Luka Doncic trade has reverberated through the city. The wide receiver was on internet personality NEON’s stream, where he said the trade essentially killed the city.
“I ain’t gon’ lie. They killed the city with that one. I wasn’t even expecting that. I don’t even know what time it happened, but I remember where I was when I saw it, and I thought it was fake because I saw it on a tweet. And it didn’t have – it was just a tweet, just words. You know how they do ‘Mavs Breaking News.’”
This is a move that has genuinely devastated the city of Dallas. The economic impact of this has been predicted by some to be around $1 billion for the city and the Mavericks. The interest in the team has plummeted, their tickets are available at low prices, and there isn’t much hope for the future.
The Cowboys in the NFL have been underachievers for years now. The Mavericks started boasting similar fan support as the juggernaut Cowboys over the years, but all of that loyalty has been undone by one move. The franchise is flailing and nobody has a lifeboat for them.
The fallout of the Luka Doncic trade has arguably been much worse than the trade itself. First, the Mavericks had to argue over the merits of the deal. They acquired an injury-prone Anthony Davis as the main return – a player six years older than Doncic.
They only got one first-round pick and Max Christie. After a hot start to life in Dallas, Christie’s production has cooled off considerably. In theory, the team could’ve remained competitive enough for a title. Unfortunately, that’s when injuries reared their ugly head.
Davis got injured on his Mavericks debut, with Daniel Gafford being sidelined shortly after. Dereck Lively II has been out since January and players like PJ Washington have also missed time. The rotten cherry on top of this putrid sundae for Dallas was Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL and being ruled out for this season and the majority of next season.
The fans can’t even look forward to next season now that Irving will likely miss most of it. They’re heavily linked with a Kevin Durant trade in the summer, so the team is bound to get deeper into a win-now mode they can’t snap out of.
