Could the Mavericks pull off another trade shocker before Thursday’s deadline?
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, David Aldridge and Anthony Slater, the Mavericks are hopeful of adding Kevin Durant to form a new superstar trio alongside his former Nets teammate Kyrie Irving and newly-acquired Anthony Davis.
The Athletic’s reporters caution that a Durant deal this week to Dallas is unlikely but the Mavs’ interest demonstrates the approach of general manager Nico Harrison, who appears to be targeting big-time stars he knows well from his Nike days, with the aim of winning a championship ASAP.
The Rockets, who are known to covet Suns guard Devin Booker, are also contemplating a run at Durant, per The Athletic. While the Rockets have a young, seemingly sustainable core, adding an impact player like Durant might vault them into true title contender status this season. Houston currently has the West’s third-best record.
As reported on Monday, the Warriors are also in pursuit of Durant but thus far the Suns have set an exorbitant asking price in exploratory talks. According to Amick, Aldridge, and Slater, one of the players the Suns want in return is Draymond Green, who starred at owner Mat Ishbia’s alma mater, Michigan State. The Suns also have a level of interest in forward Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent after the season.
The Suns remain Jimmy Butler‘s preferred destination but talks with the Heat have stalled because Miami doesn’t want Bradley Beal in return. Beal, who anticipates remaining with Phoenix past the deadline, per The Athletic, would have to waive his no-trade clause to be dealt.
Trading Durant could provide an alternate pathway for Phoenix to enhance its offer to Miami for Butler, according to Amick, Aldridge, and Slater, who hear from league sources that the Suns’ messaging about how willing they are to move Durant varies from team to team.
Interestingly, the Suns list Durant as doubtful to play on Wednesday against OKC due to an ankle sprain, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. It could be construed as a way to ensure Durant’s health as Phoenix pursues deadline deals, though Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports notes (via Twitter) that the star forward did turn his ankle in overtime on Monday.
Now I’m totally confused. I thought the suns were trying to win and was going to ask, What’s all this Kevin Durant talk?
Wouldn’t Phoenix try to keep him if they wanted to win?
Then this article states Suns asked about Draymond Green in return? What’s going on here? Are the Suns Out out of their minds?
They want Jimmy Butler this bad that if they can’t trade Beal to create room theytrade Kevin Durant? Wow.
Well if that’s the case, go get Draymond his suitcase.
Suns don’t play defense so Green is a player they want. I rather see the warriors trade Green than Wiggins. Kuminga, Green, Anderson, Looney, and TJD and a 1st round pick.
Suns are mediocre , ceiling is first round exit
Beil don’t want to be traded
It’s necessary to trade Durant
I’m looking to trade you.
Sounds like everyone just talking through their options rather than real deals in the works.
Yes Peanut, that’s probably the accurate take.
I’m all over this like I was all over Y2K and bought all that silver lol
I’m still going straight to the trade machine anyway
GSW flight just boarded and Wiggins, Buddy, Lindy and Looney were not on it! Gary we’re getting KD!!!
Yes we need more today.
Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green will be listed as doubtful tomorrow”s game
Then upgraded to trade pending
Butler don’t want to sign extension with Warriors
Warriors don’t care what he says
Confusion from new owner syndrome. New guys from Dallas and Phoenix and the Arod-Minnesota saga have drastically changed the landscape in asset valuation. Add in petulant Jimmy and you have more chaos.
This chit be crazy, yo. Nothing is going to come out of 85% of this chatter.
Just goes to show how delusional Nico is thinking he can get Durant for the one Lakers pick. That star for one pick only works once Nico. You could have gotten Durant for Luka if you know….
The Mavs have their 2025 and 2031 picks to trade as well. Not saying this is going to happen but your comment makes no sense.
Durant is 36 and will be a free agent after next season. Dallas probably has enough picks. The question is whether or not they have enough outgoing salary to make it work.
Easy. That’s not a problem.
The out l other question then is do the Suns want the Mavericks’ player and draft package. It doesn’t make sense for them to trade KD, but it would be fun to see. I’m not a Suns fan
This is doable for the Mavs. Would cost them Klay, PJ and Gafford, and they have some interesting draft capital to offer too. AD/KD/Kyrie would be a serious threat, and they would have some depth too. Interesting.
Makes little sense for the Rockets imo.
They have no draft capital its all either traded or the bad side of swaps
That Lakers pick isnt worth spit they just added a 24 year old star
Five years from now Luka will either be retired or playing 30 games a year as a playmaking power forward.
Guess you bought into the Mavs story of ab unfit Luka, huh? I don’t think he’s in the same class as Zion (or even Barkley), and I highly doubt that he will. Chalk it up to just him being young.
Why the hell would the Suns want to load up the Mavs for scraps?
Seamaholic –
Not even close, sorry. Mavs are one of least qualified teams in league to trade for KD. This sounds like Harrison trying to shake the withering criticism from Luka trade.
Suns want some win-now value in return for KD, not matching salaries for mid-level vets. They’d want a bunch of near-term firsts, which Mavs don’t have. Derek Lively would be interesting to Suns, but that’s about it.
1) As for FRP’s, Suns can offer only 1 before 2029 (this year or next), which will be close to the bottom of the first round.
2) Klay is a “negative” contract to Suns. Nobody wants to pay him $18M/yr for the next 2.5 years. Plus, he plays Booker’s position.
3) Gafford and PJ are average NBA starters on food contracts, but that won’t get Phoenix’s attention.
To top it off. KD and Kyrie have already said their final goodbyes.
“This sounds like Harrison trying to shake the withering criticism from Luka trade.”
Bingo. The Luka trade was horrible PR for the Mavs so floating the idea of them trying to get KD as well is damage control.
Don’t know why the Mavericks picked up Klay Thompson in the first place. Over the hill and overpaid on a three year contract.
Gafford, PJ, and Klay with the Lakers 2029 pick and one of the Mavs own is a helluva offer for a 36 year old with 1.5 years left. No one beats that.
No one beats that?
Beats it for what? As proof that it’s possible to do worse than Luka for AD ?
Or are you joking?
the mavs would hardly have a rotation after that
What do Mavs have to offer to the win-now Suns? Derek Lively is about it, and he’s basically out for the regular season.
Would have had a better shot at KD if Mavs had that extra Lakers first round pick Harrison decided he didn’t need
Maybe a 3 Team Trade.
The Suns wouldn’t be win-now anymore if they trade KD, obviously. They’re in a better place to rebuild than people think. If they can get a couple firsts including the Lakers one for KD to the Mavs, and then a bunch of young players and draft picks for Booker to the Rockets (or somewhere else) they’re fine.
Seamaholic,
I’m too old for the 2K game people around here joke about when it comes to fantastical trade ideas.
Is that where you’re getting this stuff from?
“2k trade” basically describes a trade that benefits one side greatly (generally the poster’s favorite team). A fleecing if you will, with a hint of fantasy. The real life Luka trade is almost the definition of a 2k trade. In fact if you tried to make that trade in 2k I’m almost positive the Mavericks would deny it 99/100 times.
Basically every Davey proposal is a 2k trade whereas Sillivan proposals lean towards the opposite, where neither team benefits.
Hope this helps.
w_b, thanks for that well-written response. It does help.
One other question, if you don’t mind. Are 2K trades proposals constrained by real data and regulations (like player contract amounts and CBA rules) like “trade machine” transactions are? Or, can a player propose any deal they want?
Well, lets see, he could probably do it if he had a few extra first round picks to spare, or a secondary piece worthwhile for salary matching. It’s outside the box, but maybe they can put Luka on the block? I’d imagine he could get, like, 4, 5 first rounders for him? Plus a legit star and complementary piece?
Edit: Well hmmmm. Maybe they can use a young guy like Grimes, Klay’s contract and a ton of whatever picks they have to get KD then
Edit 2: Well, darnit. Maybe they should just package Lively, Klay and anyone else they can scrounge up and go trade for Bradley Beal instead.
What a clown show
What team has a legit star, a complimentary player and 4 or five 1st rounders to trade? The only one I can think of is OKC. If you squint Williams is close to a legit star and they could throw in Caruso and have plenty of picks. There’s not enough basketballs for a backcourt pairing of Shai/Doncìc to work though.
Tacocat , it’s a reasonable line of thinking. What other superstars would both fit the Mavs needs AND be available? You might add, what other city/market could reasonabley assume they could certainly sign Luka to a long-term deal? That further narrows the field, disqualifying OKC and other small market teams.
Still, I can’t accept how much less than fair value Dallas received. The arguments that, one, the discussions had to be kept secret and, two, other teams that could have supplied additional value couldn’t be included both indicate a lack of negotiation expertise.
Watch and learn.
KD & Kyrie back together (?)
Try getting Harden as well, while they’re at it.
MAVS’ WORLD
KD & Kyrie back together, & Harden on the way.
Ben Simmons to Mavs rumors in the air (no truth to them, but everyone wants to be in Dallas).
Klay Thompson headed back to Warriors after a Mavs buyout, opening up necessary cap space.
Rick Brunson will be hired to replace HC Jason Kidd (still apoplectic after the Doncic heist). Then, son Jalen Brunson pulls a Jimmy Butler, and refuses to play until Knicks trade him back to Dallas and Dad. Adam Silver signs executive order to allow Dallas a one-time luxury cap exemption so Jalen can sign an 8 year max deal, joining Kyrie and Harden in all-time greatest backcourt. Luka who?
Nico Harrison is announced as Lakers’ new Head of Basketball Ops, replacing Linda Rambis. (It had been in the works for 9 months.) Jeannie Buss ignores Nico for 3 years and LeBron will only talk to Rob Pelinka, so Nico is frozen out of personnel decisions. But Niko and Luka have lots of brews together, Luka always picks up the tab.
Finally, Mark Cuban does a reverse buyout to regain control of his baby, while absentee owner Miriam Adelson accepts Trump’s offer to become US Ambassador to Slovenia. The Cubes appoints himself to the newly created Lifetime GM role, and, naturally, dominates all other GM’s in every way.
Mavs become greatest pro sports dynasty ever, and beat Lakers every game, forever.
The End.
“Trading Durant could provide an alternate pathway for Phoenix to enhance its offer to Miami for Butler,…”
Trading KD to be better situated to land Butler doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, I imagine the Suns would trade him only for a huge return, but after the Luca/Davis trade who the h*ll knows?
These agents are bored and stirring all types of rumors lol.
And after the Luka stunner, they know even the most unlikely of rumors will be more salient now. Let ’em rip.
This made me laugh. It’s open season like never before….what ya’ got on a Giannis rumor? H*ll let’s throw out some Jokic rumors.
throw in Curry rumors too…
Durant to Mavs? Davis wants to play PF…is Durant going to play SF?
Wow. Maybe Nico shouldn’t have given up that second LAL FRP just to keep Luka in the dark until after the deal was announced. Those FRPs tend to come in handy. Most teams (that are not DAL) want a bunch of FRPs when trading away a superstar.
Draymond and Kuminga for KD make it happen
Why? KD didn’t like here the first time. It would only guarantee lottery picks for years to come.
KD isn’t worth it. Doncic isn’t worth it. The money is too much. I guess the market has found its ceiling. No one wants to pay 70 mill a year for a guy. Maybe these guys with these deals aren’t really worth all of those draft picks. It’s insane how few teams own all of the draft capital.
It would literally take:
Klay Thompson
PJ Washington
Daniel Gafford
Dante Exum
Oliver Maxence
Feels like a lot of depth for KD. But the “big three” it would create might be worth it.
Rockets have the best assets.
Something tells me that the Suns are shopping KD. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Warriors and now Mavs/Rockets are having talks about KD in the span of 2 days. Ishbia getting fomo on the blockbusters.
If the Mavs use that Lakers pick and their entire bench to get KD they deserve to have their ownership revoked. Throwing away any semblance of a future to run out Kyrie/KD/AD for 2 seasons is criminal at best.
they will end up playing a starting lineup with dinwiddie, christie, lively, marshall and martin rather sooner than later if they do that and get crashed in te playoffs
Suns need to trade the whole roster and start over from scratch. Booker, Durant, Beal the fanstatic trio going to bring a championship to Phoenix. Never going to happen now they want Butler for what just another bad deal coming down the pipe. But that has been the road to mediocre from the Durant acquisition, then the Beal, now they said Butler is the key. Just blowing more smoke up the Suns fan A**.
Im sorry to blend sports here but I view Suns current situation as very comparable to the Cleveland Browns.
With Myles Garrett asking for a trade, the best possible solution is finding some shmuck to take on Watson’s deal as part of a trade for the actual star.
If moving KD also means you can move on from Beal in the same deal, it’s almost best case scenario. If the Suns want to keep or move Booker afterwards they can decide but they’ll be in a better spot if the big deal goes through.
It’s a good analogy. Browns are f****d in the same way as Suns.
Mia Gets: Kevin Durant
PHO Gets: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson
If PHO is shopping Durant this makes literally too much sense for both sides… the salaries are almost identical in that scenario…. so it will of course never happen lol
Why in the world would you trade for Butler if you’re unloading Durant? That would be dumber than unloading Doncic to the only bidder.
Which is EXACTLY why, based on their last couple of deals, it’s so believable that PHX would do it.
why on earth are they talking about trading durant while still going after butler? Clearly these things are connected
I might just love it if Harrison somehow gets Durant without giving up Lively.
That will never happen. The Mavs have a bunch of role players to trade.
Thats what everybody said when they initially saw the news about Luka being traded.
The same was said about Luka leaving Dallas.
TallBaller, that’s apples and oranges.
Lakers-Mavs swapped 2 superstars. Gafford & PJ are career role players.
Mavs would need to include Kyrie for this trade to resemble the Luka-for-AD trade.
Durant and Irving. Trying to think of where I’ve seen something like this in the past.
And if Durant is any better than Luca fitting into an organization. Hypocrisy.
Nico is deluded if he thinks Mavs have what it takes to get KD. Well maybe he did, but he gave him away for pennies on the dollar.
He thinks he knows what it takes to win championships. But he doesn’t even know what it takes to win a shoe contract. Ask S. Curry (the GSW one).
I don’t think I can recall a player who will end up in the top 15 all time that has moved around the league more than KD. Seems like he gets bored at every stop he’s been at. Sheesh.
Alcoholic, fat, not engaged conditioning wise oh yeah we’re trying to get KD. Mavs aren’t fooling me, the F-ed up royally. All these narratives and more is nothing but damage control. Jokic is fat too, doesn’t seem to be a problem. Trading Luka is some serious Moses Malone vibes.
Mavs are idiots. Period. Look at Kyrie’s history with blowing up teams. Look at AD’s injury history. Trying to Be Something with these leaked Durant pursuits. And trying to play spoiler. The GM is going to get fired. Thinking J Kid can guide a Championship. All good on paper. No Way.
idk whats real anymore.
Suns are not even close to being a championship roster. Be lucky to even make it to the play in and not be eliminated. As far as a trade, I would let everyone go, start over, it has been nothing more than a colossal mess for the last 5 years. Durrant was supposed to be the missing link, then it was the acquisition of Beal, this franchise is a lot about spending good money after bad, now they want Butler and Suns fan will get the same talk about Butler being the piece that will make the Sunshine on this basketball team. Well for me it is nothing more than BS. I’m done with this organization until they get some real basketball people running it.
Suns are smart to think about a mini tear down. I’d unload Durant and Booker if I were them. No chance of winning a championship this year or next and they might as well recoup some value while you can create a bidding war.
Warriors plane just boarded and Wiggins, Looney, Hield and Waters were not on it!!
ok nevermind, this might have been a photoshop
Davey J, no, that report is apparently correct.
They aren’t on the flight.
Could be coincidence, but those 4 represent ~$47M.
Believing in Instagram and Twitter in 2025
I hear you TallBaller. But after this Luka trade I’m at least considering everything with a grain of salt until 3PM tomorrow.
Who do you think they would acquire for those 4? There were reports today that two Vuc deals fell apart but that seems a bit much for just him.
Kevin Durant, Tyus Jones, Bol, Mason Plumlee, Lee and Monte Morris to Dallas for PJ Washington, Daniel Gaford, Marshall, Max Christie, Derek Lively, Hardy plus 1sts and 2nds
After the rockets totally fell apart in the second half last night I could see them panicking and overpaying for Durant.
Rockets are confident in their direction and their current players. IMO, they should be.
I get that’s what they’ve been saying but as someone who has watched all their games this year wayyyyy to many 3rd and 4th quarter shooting slumps. If Booker is available rockets would go all out for him imo
Agreed. They need a closer. Last night’s loss to the Nets was brutal especially after blowing another double digit fourth quarter lead the night before against the Knicks.
So Nico saw those Kd/Kyrie Nets years and thought “Oh, we could be That good!”?
Guy seems to either be in over his head or he can’t understand that 2025 isn’t 2015. He thinks he’s building the LeBron Heat years when he’s actually building the Rockets Barkley years