Kevin Durant Trade Rumors: Mavs 'Were Very Aggressive' After Anthony Davis, Luka Deal
The Dallas Mavericks reportedly made a play for Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant before Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
Speaking Thursday on The Putback, SNY's Ian Begley said the Mavs were "very aggressive" as recently as Wednesday in trying to recruit other teams into a multi-team deal that could have potentially landed them KD:
The Mavericks previously made the biggest trade of the season last weekend when they sent superstar guard Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.
Trade talk involving Durant began to pick up this week, especially once the Suns ruled him out for Wednesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an ankle sprain.
The Golden State Warriors were among the teams believed to be most heavily in on Durant, but ESPN's Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk reported Wednesday that KD had "no desire" to return to a Golden State team he played with from 2016 to 2019.
With the Warriors out of the running, nothing got done on deadline day, and the Suns ultimately decided to keep Durant.
Durant, 36, was acquired by the Suns via trade with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2022-23 season. The Suns later acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards as well, giving Phoenix a core of Durant, Beal and Devin Booker.
There were huge expectations for that group to take the Western Conference by storm, but the Suns fell in the first round of the playoffs last season and are just 25-25 so far this season.
Durant's play has been the least of the Suns' issues, as the 15-time All-Star, four-time scoring champ, two-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP and one-time NBA MVP is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.4 three-pointers made and 1.3 blocks per game.
It is unclear what the Mavs would have parted with in a trade for Durant and his $51.1 million salary, but a deal may have included some combination of Klay Thompson, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.
However, with Durant staying in Phoenix for now, the Mavs are moving forward with the superstar duo of Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, surrounded by a supporting cast of Thompson, Washington, Gafford, Christie, Caleb Martin and Naji Marshall.
With Doncic and Irving leading the way last season, the Mavericks went all the way to the NBA Finals, falling to the Boston Celtics in five games.
Dallas would have perhaps been the favorite in the Western Conference with a triumvirate of Davis, Irving and Durant, but the front office couldn't convince the Suns to make the deal happen.
Even with the roster as is, the Mavs undoubtedly have a chance to make some noise in the West, and they should be able to improve on their 26-25 record once Davis, Irving and Co. are on the court together.
