The NBA world stopped on Sunday morning as the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, five second-round picks, and the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Dallas Mavericks were linked to Durant at this past trade deadline after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, with the intent of adding Durant to form a big three next to Kyrie Irving and Davis. But, with the Mavs not pursuing Durant this time around, they can save their depth while prioritizing the Cooper Flagg era, which will officially begin on Wednesday night.
While the Mavericks not trading for a soon-to-be 37-year-old Durant should be thought of as a positive, him staying in the Western Conference and being traded to a team in the Mavericks' division is only going to make things tougher for Dallas to contend next season.
The West has been the far superior conference compared to the East for years, and Durant staying in the West instead of being traded to the East sticks with the trend that the Western Conference is seemingly always getting better while the East remains far behind.
Mavericks must be ready for war in a loaded Western Conference
Recently, specifically in the last few years, it seems like blockbuster trades are always between two teams within the same conference. If they're not, the Western Conference is typically getting better with a new star player joining the mix, while the East is declining.
Recent examples of the Western Conference improving via a recent trade include:
|
Player Name |
Former Team |
New Team |
|---|---|---|
|
Bradley Beal |
Washington Wizards |
Phoenix Suns |
|
Kevin Durant |
Brooklyn Nets |
Phoenix Suns |
|
Kyrie Irving |
Brooklyn Nets |
Dallas Mavericks |
|
James Harden |
Philadelphia 76ers |
LA Clippers |
|
Jimmy Butler |
Miami Heat |
Golden State Warriors |
This doesn't mean that the Eastern Conference never gains a star player from the Western Conference, as Damian Lillard was traded by the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks, and Karl-Anthony Towns was traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks. But for the most part, trades these days are typically within the same conference, or they make the West much stronger.
When analyzing the above chart of trades that include high-level players heading from the East to the West, you will also notice that all of the players remain in the Western Conference to this day. The West continues to turn into an unstoppable monster while the East is weakening, and the Durant trade further exemplifies how strong the West is.
Next season, the Mavericks and Rockets are definitely going to have some great duels, as the Rockets were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference last season and got better by adding a borderline top-10 player in the NBA in Durant, and Dallas returning to being one of the most feared teams in the West is going to be an uphill battle.
Even though the Mavericks have Flagg coming in to join Irving and Davis, things are only going to get tougher compared to last year. The West is loaded with teams that are trying to win a title right now, and with the Rockets landing Durant while not trading some of their top assets like Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Alperen Sengun, or Jabari Smith Jr., they are going to be in a great spot to be one of the best teams in the league once again.
Flagg and the Mavericks are in for a tough journey next season with the West always improving, and they must adapt in order to give themselves their best shot at bringing the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to Dallas for the first time since 2011.
