ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently analyzed hypothetical trade packages from all 29 NBA teams that could have been offered to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, prior to the real-world deal that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 2.

But the Lakers securing the third seed gives Doncic the best positioning he's ever had going into the playoffs. In six years with the Mavericks, his team only held homecourt advantage once in 2022 against the Utah Jazz when the Mavs were the 4th seed, but he was hurt for most of that series.

After a seemingly catastrophic blunder by the Dallas Mavericks to anger their fans by trading away Luka Doncic, acquiring Kevin Durant could save them.