Six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA First-Teamer Luka Doncic believes the Los Angeles Lakers are a "better" organization than his former team, the Dallas Mavericks. That may only be barely true, according to these midseason front office rankings.
The trade that forever altered the NBA last February has officially taken a nose dive in shock value and repercussions, but you can make the case that neither team is in an extremely better place than where they were beforehand.
That's especially true for the Dallas Mavericks, who just over a year ago traded generational talent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round draft pick.
Dallas was half a season removed from a berth in the NBA Finals when Doncic was canned on that Friday evening. While he had been injured for over a month, the dramatics that ensued with former Mavs GM Nico Harrison resulted in the news becoming an international story of apparent front office malpractice.
Because how could it be categorized as anything else. The proof was shown in the pudding, and Harrison, in his words, was ultimately proved "if he was right or not".
The Mavs fired Harrison back in November; they have not found a successor outside of co-interim promotions Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley. Davis was traded this deadline to the Washington Wizards in a salary dump that builds around new star Cooper Flagg.
If it weren't for the unwarranted beacon of optimism that Flagg injected into the franchise, who know's where it would be.
Over in Hollywood, Doncic has grown his otherworldly offensive talents and is once again in the running for MVP candidacy.
After a brief appearance in this weekend's All-Star Game at the cross-town Intuit Dome, Doncic was questioned about the state of his Lakers versus his former Mavs.
"I think the organization here is better. The Lakers are a truly legendary club, and the organization is legendary too," he said, via SportKlub and DallasHoopsJournal.
On paper, Doncic's words are justified by the Lakers' historic legacy as one of the most successful and long-standing brands in sports. To wit, the 17 NBA Championship banners hanging at crypto.com Arena explain that.
In deeper connection to the abrupt end to his tenure in Dallas after six and a half seasons, Doncic's stance on the relationship with the organization remains unknown.
As our man Grant Afseth has recalled, Doncic has not publicly embraced his former head coach Jason Kidd since the trade, but has appeared friendly with former teammates and staffers during matchups between the teams and at this weekend's All-Star festivities, where he rekindled with Kyrie Irving.
So, how can we better assess the placement of both of these franchises, and most importantly, in the modern context of the NBA?
CBS Sports' Sam Quinn happens to have just released his column that ranks all 30 NBA teams' front offices.
This February - the first rankings since last July - the Lakers rank No. 25 in the league.
The Mavs land at No. 27.
"There isn't much in Dallas we can really judge. The man who traded Luka Doncic is gone, and a permanent replacement hasn't been hired. The Mavericks have only made one substantial move since firing Nico Harrison, and that's the Anthony Davis trade," Quinn said, obviously addressing the main reason why Dallas - an organization that was once heralded as "the model franchise" upon its founding - is pitted so low.
Quinn also explains the recent advantages that came with trading Davis; it is less about the tangible return and more about the financial flexibility the team now has to prioritize a future with Flagg, the consensus No. 1 draft prospect from this summer who has exceeded all phenom expectations.
Like the Mavs were with Flagg, you can argue that the Lakers experienced a similar fate beforehand with Doncic. They got lucky he was dropped into their lap.
However, Quinn is wary of dishing out compliments to general manager Rob Pelinka and the now-minority-owning Buss family.
After acquiring Doncic, Quinn claims, "[the Lakers have] yet to add a single long-term starter around him."
"Most Laker acquisitions fall into one of two buckets. The first is semi-recently drafted top-20 picks who flamed out with their first or second teams," the author added.
"The other, broadly speaking, are big-name players past their primes. They added six former All-Stars in their 30s throughout the 2021-22 season. Patrick Beverley, Christian Wood, and this season, Marcus Smart, all fit the trend. The Lakers prize pedigree. That isn't to say it always fails. Smart is the only reliable defender on this year's team, for example."
The column continues explaining the Lakers' low ranking by recognizing how players who depart LA find success later in their careers. Davis, at the moment, notwithstanding, of course.
"The Lakers are still hurting from their inexcusable decision to let undrafted success story Alex Caruso go in 2021. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff were both in their two-way pipeline before breaking out in Memphis. Jordan Goodwin was essential to last year's team. He was waived to make room for Smart. Now he's thriving in Phoenix."
In the end, it's poorly managed resources and an apparent over reliance on brand recognition leading to any organizational success in Los Angeles, which won't stand up in this assessment.
In Dallas, it's much of the same - minus the glitz and the glammer of Southern California - but the Mavs get some benefit of the doubt with still not having found a predecessor for the seat Harrison was removed from.
"[Co-owner] Patrick Dumont is still the governor," Quinn said. "He signed off on the Doncic trade, which means he gets judged harshly until he proves he shouldn't be. But for now, the Mavericks are mostly a question mark. Let's see who they hire and go from there."