NBA Rumor: Mavs Have Interest in Trade for Suns' Kevin Durant?
The New York Knicks shook the NBA landscape on Tuesday night by swinging a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges. Following the aftermath of that madness, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski dropped another news bomb, stating that the Houston Rockets have interest in trading for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant.
What does all of that possibly have to do with the Dallas Mavericks, you ask? Well... it's prime NBA rumor season, and the Mavs might have some interest in trading for Durant themselves if you ask NBA analyst Brandon Robinson.
Dec 25, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots over Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) during the first half at Footprint Center.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
"In addition to the Rockets, Dallas and Chicago also some level of interest in Kevin Durant, I'm hearing," Robinson posted on X.
It would be naive to take such a rumor without a grain of salt, but on the other hand, it's mostly common sense, right? First of all, what team wouldn't be interested in a future Hall-of-Fame forward who still averages 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from deep? Secondly, "some level of interest" could simply mean exploratory interest at best.
Durant is still good friends with Kyrie Irving and would be a great fit with the Mavs, at least on paper. However, Durant is set to make $51 million next season, which would make it hard for Dallas to match salary in a trade without gutting depth. As good as Durant still is, that's an unnecessary risk for Dallas to take after just having made it to the NBA Finals.
Who knows, though? Durant does have a history of joining teams that just lost in the NBA Finals. Anything can happen in this league.
