The Cowboys are the biggest winner of the Luka Doncic trade

There’s no greater gift for a sports organization than a distraction when times are bad, and the Cowboys should be sending a gift basket to the Mavericks. The weekend trade of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers was so hamfisted, so incompetent, so mind-boggling stupid that it made everyone in Dallas forget what a hot mess the Cowboys are.

For the first time in a long time, Jerry Jones was able to see another organization in Dallas get slammed more than his franchise. Shines were built to Doncic outside American Airlines Center, while life in Arlington was quiet.

The Cowboys are back to being America’s Team, because they’ve mastered one our of most-cherished tenets: Failing upwards. Forget exceptionalism, it’s about simply being better than the idiot on your right — and Nico Harrison is standing next to Jerry Jones. Compared to the Mavericks the Cowboys are a flourishing, healthy organization — because while they might be in cap hell, losing, making uninspired coaching hirings, and having the team compared to a glory hole, at least they didn’t trade CeeDee Lamb to Los Angeles for Cooper Kupp.

The saving grace for Dallas has always been that at least one of their two big teams were good. In the 90s the Mavericks were a laughing stock, but it was fine because the Cowboys were winning championships. The 2000s it switched, with Dirk Nowitzki leading Dallas to NBA titles in 2007 and 2010. The early 2010s were the era of Tony Romo, pivoting into Dak Prescott — while the Mavs were making consistent first round playoff exits.

For a fleeting moment it seemed like both the Cowboys and Mavericks were about to be great. In the NFL the team were the NFC favorites to finally get over the hump with Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons. The NBA team had Luka Doncic, a superstar to build around for the next decade, and a still-effective Kyrie Irving leading the team to the NBA Finals.

Within a year it all came crashing down. The shared DNA: Managerial incompetence. A preternatural ability to mess things up. Confident idiots painting a picture of their team with the confidence and hubris of that woman in Spain who ruined the Jesus restoration.

If anything this whole mess in Dallas is an indictment of the system we’ve created in sports. One in which fans invest the time, money, and energy only to see millionaires and billionaires screw it all up. Jerseys better left on arena steps than put away in closets where they only serve as a memory of pain.

It’s tough to imagine when the Cowboys or Mavericks might be good again. The NFL team will struggle along, hoping that Brian Schottenheimer will be the guy to right the ship (he won’t), while the Mavericks are destined to be irrelevant for the next decade now because of the series of messes that Nico Harrison has made.

The silver lining: At least the Dallas Stars are 2nd in the NHL Central Division. Time to learn hockey, Texas.