Rockets' Kevin Durant details how blockbuster trade changed the NBA

The Houston Rockets made one of the biggest trades of the summer by acquiring Kevin Durant. That said, some bigger trades were made earlier in the 2024-25 season: Trades that would change the NBA.

That sounds hyperbolic. When a trade happens, players change teams. Technically, every trade changes the NBA, right?

Sure - but the Luka Doncic trade really changed the NBA. It shocked the world. It's exceedingly rare for an NBA team to trade an in-prime MVP candidate.

The Rockets' Kevin Durant says it emboldened some teams to make other big moves.

Rockets' Kevin Durant breaks down the impact of Doncic trade

“You start seeing stuff like that, as an organization, you might get a little more courage to do some stuff."

- Kevin Durant on the Luka Doncic trade

Fair enough.

If anything, this was a somewhat quiet summer. The Rockets' Durant acquisition was the biggest deal of the offseason. Otherwise, the Jrue Holiday-Anfernee Simons swap was a big deal. The Hawks' acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis matters. The Nuggets' acquisition of Cameron Johnson in exchange for Michael Porter Jr. was possibly the biggest trade.

The quiet summer likely owes to a busy deadline. That's where the aforementioned courage was on display. The Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler. The Raptors seemingly cut their rebuild short by acquiring Brandon Ingram. The Rockets made a big splash for Cody Zellar.

(OK, that last one is a joke.)

It was an explosive trade deadline, but it wasn't the first explosive deadline we've seen.

So how did the Doncic trade really shape the league?

Rockets' rival sets wild precedent

Name another in-prime MVP candidate to get moved as unceremoniously as Doncic. You can't, because it's never happened.

Without fail, there are rumors preceding the event. It becomes clear that the player has requested a trade. Surely the organization didn't willingly move a young, elite player - why would they?

Most of us are still asking ourselves that question. The Mavericks' decision remains puzzling. One thing is clear: it will change the league.

The NBA isn't just a competitive sports league. It's a market. Teams respond to trends. If the Mavericks can send out Doncic because they're concerned about his defense, we can surely move our guy, right?

From a Rockets' perspective, it'll be interesting to see how they respond to the market. This team has several players on below-market deals, but they also have a lot of quality players to pay. If the bar for trading a player has lowered, that doesn't mean the Rockets need to make a trade, but fans should keep an eye out:

They might want to change the league as well.