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The Dallas Mavericks made a shocking move over the weekend when they traded star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. The Mavericks wanted to upgrade on defense and didn't feel comfortable paying Doncic a supermax contract extension this upcoming offseason, so instead they decided to pivot to another star.
Now, the Mavericks are operating on a win-now timeline. Davis is 31 years old and Kyrie Irving will be turning 33 very soon, so the Mavericks are trying ro make a push for a championship right now despite trading the player that carried them to the NBA Finals last season. As a result, general manager Nico Harrison and company aren't done trying to make big moves at this trade deadline.
One name that has been floated as a possible target for some teams is star Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant. The Mavericks are one team that is trying to bring Durant in, but it's going to be hard for them to pull it off according to Sam Amick, David Aldridge and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
“League sources say the Dallas Mavericks, fresh off their Luka Dončić-for-Anthony Davis swap that sent shockwaves through the Association, have dreams of adding Durant to their Davis-Kyrie Irving-led group,” the trio wrote. “While the likelihood of Dallas pulling this off now appears unlikely, the mere idea of Durant joining Dallas’ star-studded group sheds new light on the thinking of Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison after he was roundly ridiculed for the Dončić deal. Whether it’s Durant (now or later), or perhaps even the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James in the summer if he were to decline his player option for next season, the 52-year-old Harrison appears to be targeting big-time stars with whom he’s very familiar from his past life as a top Nike executive. The goal, of course, is to win a championship as soon as possible.”
Of course, acquiring a player like Durant would require the Mavericks giving up a lot of assets. One would think that after trading a player of Doncic's caliber, they would have those assets, but instead they only got one young player in Max Christie and one first-round pick. As a result, any star trade is going to be difficult for them to pull off at the deadline.
Maybe the Mavericks can still take a big swing and get a star on board this summer, but for now it looks like Davis and Irving are going to be the only two star players in the lineup. The Mavericks are going to have to make the best of it and try to climb up the Western Conference standings with the two of them leading the way.
