Maybe not all sports have to be so cold-blooded
The biggest story in Dallas sports so far in 2025 has been the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Mavericks to the Lakers. Even with the Mavs season ending in the Play-In Tournament and the Dallas Cowboys getting set for the NFL Draft, the continued fallout from the Luka trade remains the top story in the metroplex.
In case we needed further proof of that fact, Dallas owner Jerry Jones got asked about the Dončić trade and his reaction to it during the Cowboys’ pre-Draft presser and didn’t try to just brush it aside to keep focus on the ‘Boys. Jones made clear that he has enough going on running the Cowboys, but noted that he and his wife, Gene, are big Mavs fans and considered Dončić a “personal friend,” having had him attend some Cowboys games in the owner’s suite.
While few know the cold nature of the business of sports better than Jones, the news of Dončić getting traded was so shocking Jones said his wife — like many Mavs fans — cried when she found out Luka had been sent to Los Angeles.
“Well I am a fan of the Mavericks — big fan of the Mavericks — and consequently a big fan of Luka,” Jones said. “The world knows that I’ve got my hands full thinking about what we think about over here, much less trying to figure out [anything else]. I look at the Mavericks through a very much entertainment eye. I know Luka was a personal friend and watched a lot of games with us and would hope that he would watch more games with us as we go along, know his family pretty well and his support staff pretty well. All of that is just one as a fan.
“Now, Gene was All-State, scored 17 straight free throws in a state championship game, and Gene lives and dies with that basketball. And just cried when Luka left,” Jones added. “I understand that and I understand, frankly, you say how could that happen, I’ve got a little bit better understanding how something like that can happen.”
As Jones pointed out at the end, he’s a little more understanding of how a team could come to trade a beloved franchise star, but on a personal level even he seemed surprised and a bit disappointed in Dončić’s departure. The Cowboys don’t make any trips to L.A. this season, but do have a road game in Vegas which isn’t far, so perhaps we’ll see Luka in the Jones box again at Allegiant Stadium to spark another round of headlines in this saga — which we know Jerry loves to create.
