“No one asked any of our staff about that trade. If they had, we’d probably say, ‘let’s get another cup of coffee and think this over,'” a spokesperson said.
DALLAS, Texas — Ascension Coffee, a beloved java chain found in six different locations across North Texas, found out what it’s like to be collateral damage after one of their cafés was attached to likely the biggest, most shocking, jarring and eviscerating trades that the NBA and Mavericks fans have ever seen.
Many in North Texas love Ascension, known for its specialty slow-roasted coffee, elevated wine list and highly caffeinated, nitro-infused Japanese cold brew, Doki Doki.
However, the company was quickly alerted to its name being mentioned in NBA insiders’ articles across the web after Mavericks star Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Apparently, the roots of the Doncic trade were planted first inside Ascension’s café in the Crescent Court adjacent to the hotel of the same name. Mavericks GM Nico Harrison met there with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka to discuss giving up Doncic for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick in the 2029 NBA Draft.
Pelinka even confirmed the trade began over coffee in Luka’s introductory press conference in Los Angeles this week.
WFAA contacted Ascension’s marketing team to find out if there was any surveillance footage of the meeting. Boy, wouldn’t people love to see that?
A spokesperson scrubbed through what they had but told us they only keep two weeks of footage at a time and only flag footage to keep it long-term if an incident was reported by staff. Sadly, no staff members were aware of a planned kidnapping involving one of Dallas’ most beloved sports faces. (Just kidding!)
But WFAA did want to know what the chain thought about ‘catching strays’ in connection to one of the biggest sports stories Dallas has seen in a long time.
“It’s a tough spot to be in,” said Ascension Coffee’s Sales and Marketing Manager Mark Jezek. “Big news, but also — you know it’s your coffee shop where this happened. Here we are.”
Jezek admits that seeing Ascension’s name appear in reports was surreal.
“You want to celebrate the publicity,” he said. “But this is one of those stories where it’s hard to find the silver lining right now.”
According to Jezek, despite the high-stakes basketball discussions at their tables, Ascension employees were not consulted, and he wants the public to know that.
“No one asked any of our servers or staff what we should do with that trade,” Jezek said. “If it had come to us, we’d probably say, ‘let’s get another cup of coffee and think this over a little bit more.'”
Amid the chaos, Jezek offered a lighthearted invitation to Lakers star Anthony Davis. Due to the nature of the trade, Mavericks fans groaned at Davis’ name. In a way, he’s also seen some collateral damage.
“We definitely want to make a spot for him and welcome him to the city,” he said. “If he ever wants to stop by and get a coffee, we’d like that.”