Kevin Durant is back in Texas, Victor Wembanyama is back after major shoulder surgery and the Dallas Mavericks aren't saying when Kyrie Irving might be back from a knee injury so he can join Anthony Davis
and No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.
The defending Southwest Division champion Houston Rockets added Durant — a one-and-done star for the Texas Longhorns almost 20 years ago — in a blockbuster trade with Phoenix, not long after losing to Golden State in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Wembanyama missed most of the last half his second season with the San Antonio Spurs after getting diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot condition that is potentially life-threatening. Surgery was the chosen path back to the court for the 21-year-old French star, who is now listed at 7-foot-4 instead of 7-3.
The Mavericks enter their first full season without Luka Doncic after converting a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery and getting Flagg, a one-year wonder at Duke 14 years after Irving followed the exact same path to the NBA.
Dallas lost in the play-in tournament a year after reaching the NBA Finals, losing Davis for almost two months when he went down with an injury in the 10-time All-Star's debut a week after the widely panned trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Irving was lost for the season when he tore his left ACL in early March.
Durant didn't win a playoff game in two-plus seasons with the Suns, who decided on a major reset in a deal that landed them 2021 No. 2 pick Jalen Green and a bevy of draft picks.
Now the four-time scoring champion joins a team looking for its first playoff series victory since 2020. It's the fifth stop for the 15-time All-Star since leaving the Longhorns to be the No. 2 pick in 2007.
“We always got so much support here from me playing at Texas, so I always felt the love every time I came back to Houston,” said Durant, who won two NBA titles with Golden State. “So to put on a Rockets jersey, I know it’s going to go to the next level.”
Wembanyama's health scare gave him a new appreciation for life. He spent part of the offseason visiting NASA in Houston and training with monks in China. Not to mention adding some bulk to his unique, wiry frame. He's listed at 240 pounds.
“This is my best summer so far,” Wembanyama said. “I can tell the progress is just incredible. I feel better, I look stronger and the scale says I’m heavier. So everything is a green light.”
It seems unlikely Irving will play before the calendar turns to 2026, and Davis will have protective eyewear for the rest of his career following offseason surgery to repair a detached retina.
If the 32-year-old Davis can avoid a penchant for long-term injuries and Flagg lives up to the hype that helped soothe the hard feelings many Mavs fans had over the trade, Dallas could chart a promising near-future quickly after many thought they had squandered it by trading a then-25-year-old superstar in his prime.
“Same thing as last year when I got traded and I had a press conference,” Davis said of his message for fans. “The goal is still to bring a championship here. I think we have a good ballclub. I think our biggest thing as a team is our health. I’m happy to be here. I’m excited to be here. And I want to win here.”
Here's a look at each Southwest Division team in a predicted order of finish:
A season-ending knee injury to Fred VanVleet just before camp dampened the Rockets' title hopes and left them searching for answers at point guard. They could use different lineup configurations with VanVleet out, including moving 6-7 forward Amen Thompson to point guard to make a big starting five that would include Durant and center Alperen Sengun, both at 6-11, along with forwards Jabari Smith Jr. (6-10) and Tari Eason (6-8). Even with this lineup, Houston needs point guard Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in 2024, to take a step forward to make up for the loss of VanVleet after the former Kentucky standout played sparingly last season.
Flagg, who was The Associated Press men's basketball player of the year while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four, joins a team with two title-winning top overall picks in Irving and Davis, along with Klay Thompson, a four-time champion with the Warriors. “You couldn’t ask for a better situation,” said coach Jason Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard who won a title as a player with the Mavericks in 2011. “When you talk about wisdom, you have quite a few people who have been in that seat as coaches or as players. We’re not asking him to carry the weight of the Dallas Mavericks. We’re asking him to be Cooper Flagg. And that’s pretty special.”
Wembanyama led the NBA with 176 blocks last season despite being limited to 46 games by the shoulder issue, and defense is a clear priority even as the team upgraded on offense. “This is a non-negotiable,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not something you can’t do. If you want to be a part of our team and we’re going to hold each other accountable, we know the coach is going to hold us accountable, your status is defense and that is non-negotiable.” The Spurs almost won the lottery again two years after landing Wembanyama, settling for Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick. Coach Mitch Johnson enters his first full season after replacing Gregg Popovich. The five-time NBA champion moved into the front office after stepping away following a stroke five games into last season.
Memphis will rely on the tandem of two-time All-Stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. surrounded by a mixture of new teammates. Morant and Jackson have been the core for years. The front office traded the third member of that group, sending Desmond Bane and to Orlando in June. The Grizzlies will need to weather the early season as key players recover from offseason ailments. That includes Jackson and 7-4 center Zach Edey, who had ankle stabilization surgery in June. Coach Tuomas Iisalo no longer has the “interim” tag. He was the replacement when Taylor Jenkins was fired late in his sixth season.
Much will hinge on whether oft-injured star power forward Zion Williamson can stay in the lineup. Joe Dumars, the club’s new executive vice president of basketball operations, decided to double down on Williamson as franchise player as he tries to turn around a team that went 21-61 last season. Dumars, an NBA champion as a player and general manager in Detroit, wants Williamson to take more responsibility as a leader. Dumars' offseason additions include two players who won championships with Golden State in guard Jordan Poole and center Kevon Looney. New Orleans drafted Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 pick.
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AP Sports Writers Brett Martel, Kristie Rieken and Teresa M. Walker contributed.
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