Had Kyrie Irving not torn his ACL, the Dallas Mavericks would have gotten Kevin Durant in a deal with the Houston Rockets.
If Kyrie Irving hadn’t torn his ACL last season, the 36-year-old forward would have been moved to the Dallas Mavericks instead of the Houston Rockets, according to NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.
“In just talking to people across the league, I got the sense, and I started reporting it around February, March, that had Kyrie Irving not injured his knee, torn his ACL, we might be having another conversation about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as members of the Dallas Mavericks,” he said.
“Kyrie Irving’s injury, his knee, really was, no pun intended, the Achilles heel as to why KD did not find a way to the Dallas Mavericks.”
Once upon a time, Durant and Irving played together with the Brooklyn Nets. Durant and Klay Thompson were teammates on the Golden State Warriors’ championship team.
Winners of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Mavericks added Duke forward Cooper Flagg to their star-studded core that also includes Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Anthony Davis.
On the other hand, KD becomes the latest addition to a talented Rockets team that already has Fred VanVleet, Dorian Finney-Smith, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., and Amen Thompson.
Durant is still under contract for one more season at $54.7 million. Reportedly, he is hoping to make Houston his last destination in the NBA, as it will be his fifth franchise overall.
He became eligible for a contract extension on July 6, with two main options: sign a two-year deal now worth up to $112 million, or wait six months to become eligible for a two-year deal that could reach $124 million.
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