Dallas, TX
Grading the Mavericks' all-time shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to Lakers

All was quiet on Saturday evening for Dallas Mavericks fans.
The team was coming off a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and they had a game in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon against the Cavaliers, and trade murmurs about the team had been extremely quiet recently.
The team had been linked to Herbert Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans, but outside of that, the rumors had been fairly nonexistent. The Mavericks always hold their cards close to their chest ahead of the trade deadline, but this year had been way more quiet than we had ever seen.
Grading the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers
The quietness around the Mavericks immediately turned into some of the loudest buzz in NBA history late into the night on Saturday as they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
This trade was between the Mavericks, Lakers, and Utah Jazz, and the full details make absolutely zero sense for all parties involved.
The Lakers acquired Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris, the Mavericks acquired Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers, and the Utah Jazz got Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2025 second-round pick from the LA Clippers, and a 2025 second-round pick from Dallas.
This was one of the most confusing trades in NBA history, and it gets even more confusing as you dive into the full details.
Grading the trade for the Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers robbed the Mavericks.
They just landed a player who has been selected to five All-NBA First Teams in a row and led Dallas to the NBA Finals for a 31-year-old Davis, Christie, and one first-round pick. While losing Davis could sting, they landed a player who will be the face of the franchise for years to come, and he is the perfect player to take the torch from LeBron James.
Doncic playing in Los Angeles and starting a new era of Lakers basketball is going to change everything for that franchise, and this trade is almost so bizarre that it doesn’t feel real. The Lakers are the clear winners of this deal, and Doncic is going to be the clear face of the NBA moving forward.
Grading the trade for the Dallas Mavericks
This is undoubtedly the worst trade in NBA history.
The Mavericks just traded a player who has the potential to go down as one of the greatest players of all time and is only 25 years old. He gave the franchise all he had and led them to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011 last season, and he hasn’t even reached his prime yet.
Dallas gave up on him, blindsided him by sending him to the Lakers, and flat-out gave up on him because they were worried about giving him a long-term deal and thought his conditioning was an issue.
That is nowhere close to enough of a reason to trade a future Hall of Famer and the face of the city of Dallas, and now Davis is going to be the face of the franchise alongside Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks are playing an extremely dangerous game with this one considering that they have little to no first-round capital moving forward, and this move will age horribly if they can’t win within the next few years.
Dallas did get to shed Kleber as part of this deal, which they were rumored to be wanting to do, and on top of that, they lost the leader of the locker room, Morris.
This is an extremely risky move, and the fact that the Mavericks approached the Lakers with this move is absolutely absurd.

Dallas, TX
Looking for authentic Mexico City cuisine in Dallas-Fort Worth? Here’s where to start

This month, D-FW Sabores explored the food, dishes and the history behind them of Mexico City, the country’s capital. There, centuries-old traditions combine with modern approaches, making Mexico City a mecca for world gastronomy and a master of street food.
Mexico City’s origins date back to 1325, when the Aztecs settled on an island in Texcoco Lake. In 1521, the Spanish conquistadors defeated the indigenous people. That began the Mestizaje era during which the two cultures collided, combining flavors and techniques to create the Mexican cuisine we know today.
Mexico City occupies only 0.1% of the country’s territory but holds more than 7% of its population, most of them migrants from other states or countries. It’s, in part, why you can find such a wide variety of flavors in Mexico City cuisine.
There are countless high-end restaurants in the city, some awarded with two Michelin stars — Pujol and Quintonil. But the dishes that truly represent the city’s food identity can be found as frequently on a street corner as in a fine dining room.
The al pastor taco is the king of Mexico City street food. This taco is made with pork marinated in a combination of spices, including achiote, a plant native to southern Mexico and widely used in the cuisine of that region. In Dallas-Fort Worth, several places serve al pastor tacos, bringing Mexico City flare to the experience with music and slivers of pineapple.
Tortas are another ubiquitous dish in the Mexican capital. Because of their versatility and variety, they are one of the foods consumed by young and old, at school, at the office, on the street, in restaurants, or anywhere. We can also find them in North Texas, too, in places like El Rincón del D.F.
D-FW Sabores also explored the eternal debate in Mexico City: should quesadillas have cheese or not? At Tortas Insurgentes in D-FW, they’ve chosen not to pick sides and prepare them as requested by the customer.
Mexico City is the third region of Mexico that D-FW Sabores covered as part of a quest to find authentic Mexican food in North Texas.
For a look at the restaurants serving these dishes and more, check out this story.
Next, The News is heading south.
This story is part of D-FW Sabores, a series dedicated to finding authentic Mexican cuisine across North Texas, dish by dish, region by region.
Dallas, TX
Dallas Mavericks Partner with Marcus Graham Project for Game-Changing Boot Camp – The Official Home of the Dallas Mavericks

For the fourth consecutive year, the Dallas Mavericks teamed up with the Marcus Graham Project (MGP) to open the door for a group of diverse young professionals looking to step into the sports marketing industry.
Through the MGP iCR8 Boot Camp, 25 program applicants were selected to participate in the week-long training and mentorship program.
Established in 2009, the Marcus Graham Project’s iCR8 Boot Camps invest in future marketing and media leaders who will contribute to an expanded and diversified talent pool of highly skilled professionals.
During the first two meetings, students learned the ins and outs of the Dallas Mavericks approach to marketing, media, and communications and gained insight from team sponsors, like Target, on their techniques to leverage the brand’s connection to the Mavs.
With ample background on team operations and a deeper look into the Mavs’ efforts to expand the brand internationally, the four teams were challenged to create a comprehensive strategy for the Dallas Mavericks to penetrate markets in China, Germany, Mexico and Spain.
Over the course of the next two days, the teams collaborated to finalize presentations, which were shared with industry experts from the Dallas Mavericks and The Marketing ARM, a widely known sports, entertainment, and social media agency, for individualized feedback.
Among the four groups, the team assigned to the Chinese market was designated as the top presentation for their innovative ideas to grow the Mavs fan base, while also leveraging opportunities to increase revenue through multiple avenues.
Team leader and MVP winner Cory Hicks said, “This experience has been a roller coaster of different emotions as we overcame different obstacles to feel that sense of achievement and see all the work we put in come to fruition.
“My team was very helpful to bounce ideas off and collaborate…It’s definitely been a beautiful experience, and it’s been a huge reward to see that all the work has paid off.”
Hicks and his winning team will all be invited to interview for prospective internship openings in the Mavs Marketing department and experience a Mavs gameday in early March.
But, most importantly, all participants gained valuable insight into the sports marketing industry, and hope to join 96% of MGP alumni who received job offers within six months of completing an iCR8 Boot Camp.
Dallas, TX
Former Dallas TE Peyton Hendershot calls out 'extracurriculars' with Cowboys in comparison with Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Peyton Hendershot will wrap up his third NFL season on Sunday. He’s playing in the first Super Bowl of his career after spending the first two seasons of his pro career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Before Sunday’s championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hendershot revealed the biggest difference he’s experienced playing for the Chiefs this season compared to what he learned during his time with the Cowboys.
“This is throwing no strays but I just feel like when I came to Kansas City, my first experience in the NFL was the Cowboys so that’s all I knew,” Hendershot said during his media appearance during Super Bowl week. “I just feel like here, it’s strictly football and winning. Nothing else but just football and winning. And I feel like with the Cowboys it’s a little bit more like the public image, you know what I’m saying? The extracurriculars that come with it, too. And here it’s just — let’s just win football.”
Hendershot hasn’t seen the field all too often, playing in nine games including this postseason in the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills. In total, he caught five passes for 51 yards during his first season with the Chiefs.
Coming to Kansas City in the offseason, the former Indiana Hoosier noticed some differences, as well as some familiarities right away.
“It’s not as paramount as here,” he said of the pageantry that comes with playing for the Dallas Cowboys. “Here (Kansas City), I’ve never heard anything but football and what we’re trying to do. When you’re in Dallas, sometimes it’s about signings and the pictures and events. And I’m just a small-town kid from Indiana, so it’s good to be back in this type of (Midwestern) environment.”
However, being in Dallas for the time he did prepare him for the limelight that also comes with playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
“One of the things that helped me from being on the Cowboy was the atmosphere. I can be at all these events, Super Bowl, whatever. I’m not really that anxious and nervous because playing for the Cowboys is already to that magnitude and blown up.
“And then the D-Line, going against all of them, D-Law (DeMarcus Lawrence), Micah (Parsons), you can go up against any of these other guys in the league. I was going against them every day in practice.”
Hendershot will take the experience he gained playing in front of the bright lights in Dallas, and the winning culture in Kansas City, and take it into Sunday to try and help his team win a third-straight Super Bowl.
Kickoff between the Chiefs and Eagles is set for Sunday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. ET live on FOX.