DALLAS — The Luka Doncic trade. We’ve complained about it. We’ve cried about it. But eight months have now passed, and the Dallas Mavericks are about to start a new season.

So, are we finally ready to try to laugh about one of the greatest sports tragedies in Dallas history? Matt Lyle thinks so. That’s why he wrote about it.

“It’s one of the stages of my grief. It’s the 8th stage. You write a play about it,” he said.

Lyle and fellow Dallas Mavericks fanatic Matt Coleman co-wrote ‘The Trade’ about the shocking move the Dallas Mavericks made late on a Saturday night in February, sending beloved phenom Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lyle and Coleman, often called ‘The Matts,’ wrote the play in a matter of months. It is already running and getting rave reviews at Theatre Three in Dallas. Lyle says a large part of his friendship with Coleman is based on basketball.

In the first few hours after the news broke that shook the city to its core, they knew there was compelling material.

“The angry texts turned into joking right away, and we’re like, we’ve got six laughs right there. Now we just need about 110 more,” Lyle said.

Then came so much fallout – protests, rallies, mock funerals. They knew what they wanted to do.

They wrote a play about Dallas losing Doncic in the style of Greek theater, “the most enormous emotional type of theater,” Lyle said.

“One guy ruins the entire city with thinking that he knows more than the gods and can challenge the fates,” he said

Theatre Three relishes putting on productions that are uniquely Dallas, said artistic director Jeffrey Schmidt. He jumped when he heard the pitch.

“Typically, as we choose seasons and with the things we produce, it’s one and a half to two years ahead of time. The fact that this was hot, fresh, right off the stove, ready to go, that’s what’s been so fun and exciting,” Schmidt said.

Besides the obvious roles of Nico Harrison and Luka Doncic, characters also play Mark Cuban, Derek Harper, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

‘The Trade’ is filled with audience participation.

“It’s a comedy about a tragedy,” Lyle said. “At its heart, it is kind of a wild comedy that is good-natured, but also satire.”

Like a lot of Dallas, Lyle said he’s still trying to figure out his Mavericks fandom.

“It’s complicated,” he admits.  “I can’t say that [the show] will necessarily be closure for anybody, but I will say that there is something to laughing with people and moaning along with people and playing your role as the audience that feels a little bit therapeutic, I think.”

The Trade runs through November 2 at Theatre Three.

Click here for information about showtimes and tickets.

Schmidt jokes he’s already asking what the pair of playwrights is writing next.

We suggest a sequel based on the other trade that shook the city in 2025, the one that sent Micah Parsons packing.