After the Dallas Mavericks received flak for trading away their former franchise star Luka Dončić, expect general manager Nico Harrison to double down on this decision and be aggressive in the offseason.
A former Nike executive, Harrison has been collecting stars whom he worked with when he was still with the sneaker giant.
ESPN’s Chris Herring has proposed a trade that could give the Mavericks a “Big Three” of Nike athletes that have ties with Harrison by pairing Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant with their current star duo of Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis next season.
Dallas Mavericks receive: Kevin Durant
Phoenix Suns receive: Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, 2025 first-round pick (via Dallas)
For Herring, his trade proposal makes sense for both the Mavericks and the Suns.
“In this deal, the Suns immediately deepen their rotation, getting not only historic sharpshooter Thompson, but also key win-now players in Washington and Marshall. Most importantly, they would get Lively, who enjoyed a fantastic rookie season on both ends of the floor with Dallas en route to the Mavs reaching the NBA Finals last year. The haul, and the draft pick in a deep selection pool, should be enough to convince franchise player Devin Booker that Phoenix has enough to be competitive,” Herring wrote.
This proposed trade is riskier for the Mavericks, according to Herring, because it would leave them with a top-heavy roster led by a trio of injury-prone stars in their 30s with a shallow bench.
“But after dealing away Dončić, isn’t that exactly what Mavs general manager Nico Harrison and the club have signed up for at this point?” Herring wrote.
Mavericks ‘Aggressively’ Pursued Kevin Durant
SNY’s Ian Begley reported on Feb. 6 that the Mavericks actively were engaged in multi-team trade talks to bring Durant, Irving’s close friend and former Brooklyn Nets teammate, to Dallas.
“I was told that the Mavericks were very aggressive, as recently as Wednesday, trying to find other teams to get involved so they could make the math work and bring Kevin Durant to Dallas. Obviously, nothing coming to fruition there,” Begley said on SNY’s “Putback with Ian Begley” a few minutes after the trade deadline passed.
Durant’s former team, Golden State Warriors, also heavily pursued a reunion which the 15-time NBA All-Star ultimately thumbed down. Revisiting a Durant trade in the offseason will largely depend on how the Warriors’ season shakes out with Jimmy Butler, the Suns’ trade deadline target.
Kevin Durant Gone in Offseason: NBA Insider
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Durant knew his fate was already sealed the moment his name was included in trade talks at the deadline.
“Well, they’re going to trade him, and he knows that,” Windhorst said on “NBA Today” on Feb. 26. “He’s actually given them [some grace]. There’s been a couple of opportunities where he could have criticized them for trying to trade him. He has not done that. He has been very professional about this, and I expect that to continue throughout the rest of the regular season.”
Durant did not want a midseason trade as he knew he would cost a lot to the team that would trade for him.
“A player like me costs a lot,” Durant said on the “Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis” that dropped on Feb. 26. “Going into your team is gonna be a whole new era of your team when I get to your team and that’s a lot of work through the season like I’m still of value, especially with my contract and just my production that me just getting up and moving in the middle of season, it’s going to be a big blow to any team I’m going.”
Durant, who will turn 37 in September, has one year left on his current deal that will pay him $54.7 million next season.
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