Rockets' Kevin Durant trade just saved Mavericks from disaster waiting to happen

On Sunday morning, the first domino of what could be a crazy offseason finally fell. There have been rumors of Kevin Durant being traded for months, and fans finally know what team he will be playing for next season. Thankfully for Dallas Mavericks fans, it won't be in Dallas.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Phoenix Suns have traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and five second-round picks. With Durant officially heading to the Rockets, the rumors of the Mavericks trading for Durant can finally be put to bed.

After the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, there were rumors that the team was eyeing a trade for Durant to form a big three next to Kyrie Irving and Davis. While this would have been an unstoppable trio on paper, depth is required to win in today's NBA, and the Mavs would have none of that after trading for Durant.

Mavericks' depth is safe as Kevin Durant heads to the Rockets

Dallas trading for Durant would have been an absolute disaster, as they would have had to give up multiple high-end role players and first-round draft capital for a soon-to-be 37-year-old Durant, and they would have compromised their future even more than it already is (considering they traded a 25-year-old Doncic after he led them to the 2024 NBA Finals). The Mavericks' future was saved by them landing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the right to draft Cooper Flagg, and trading for Durant would have put the team in an extremely strange position to start Flagg's career.

The Mavericks would have had a big four of Durant, Flagg, Irving, and Davis, but outside of that group, they would be mostly down to minimum contracts. The Suns proved that this strategy does not lead to winning, and with Dallas likely going over the second apron (or getting extremely close to it) if they made this move, they wouldn't have been able to strategically build around Flagg and his future.

Dallas is now in a unique situation, as they are having to juggle their goal of winning a title within the next few years while also putting the team in a position to win in the future with Flagg at the helm, and a trade for Durant would have been Nico Harrison going all in on winning a title before his contract expires.

A Durant trade by the Mavericks, especially after they won the NBA Draft Lottery and the Flagg sweepstakes, would have been the most reckless move they possibly could have made, and Harrison pulling back on the reins here was the right move. Dallas hadn't been linked to Durant since before the trade deadline, and while the rumors surrounding the Mavs' interest in Durant went a bit too far, they were definitely there to some degree.

The Rockets finally pulling the trigger on a Durant deal should help bring back an intense in-state rivalry that Mavericks fans and Rockets fans have missed, and Mavs fans who still feared that a Durant trade was somehow still in the works have nothing to worry about now.

The Mavericks' depth and continuity is safe, and all eyes will be on them on Wednesday night as they begin a new era by drafting Flagg.