Dallas must find realistic milestones in a West dominated by superstars. While OKC and San Antonio loom large, Kevin Durant’s shaky tenure in Houston provides a target.
DALLAS - As the Dallas Mavs attempt to make the long climb back to respectability - forget, for a moment, true contention - they need some self-reflective honesty.
The NBA West is run by a pair of powerhouses in Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the two clubs presently jousting for a berth in the NBA Finals.
OKC's Shai is now a back-to-back MVP. The Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is now the freakiest talent in the league.
The Mavs can answer with Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg ... but he's not there. At least not yet.
So there can be mileposts along the path up that mountain. Catch the 64-win Thunder or the 62-win Spurs? Not yet.
How about achieving the next level, and catching another star-studded roster? The one in Houston, where the Rockets just won 52 games before fizzling out in the playoffs?
That challenge might be more achievable if they break up that gang of theirs.
Kevin Durant is both a legendarily brilliant talent and a transient, mercenary star destined to never be associated with one team.
And that includes his present employer, the Rockets.
The Rockets' debut season with "KD'' cannot be deemed a success, at least not based on expectations.
Oh, they made the playoffs. That's good.
And so is the fact that the Rockets went 52-30 and finished as the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
But that's the same record as Houston posted before Durant got here. ... so in that sense, he didn't make them better.
And that is a stat fact that is unbending even in the face of his individual numbers, which were - as always - impressive.
Durant, 37, made the All-Star team again this season, with big-time averages of 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He shot 52 percent from the field, with 58.8 percent effective shooting and 64.1 percent true shooting.
He was unstoppable in so many ways.
But the marriage seems a bit shaky, which is leading to speculation that the University of Texas product might be on the move again.
He can be temperamental. (Sitting off to the side during Game 3 of Houston’s opening-round postseason series against the Los Angeles Lakers while missing the game due to injury was a bad look). The Durant burner account situation is weird. And again ... the idea was that he might put Houston over the top.
So naturally ... here come the trade rumors.
Sam Amick of The Athletic is suggesting that the rumors are invalid, saying on a podcast, "I have not gotten any indication that that's in the cards.''
But he added that the Rockets are at "a tricky fork in the road ... Do you double down and go chase another star? They have the assets where they can put a good package together for a Giannis or a Kawhi Leonard. ...
"I don't see Kevin moving but we'll see where that goes.''
That makes for a pile of "if's.'' And it leaves an opening for Dallas, a realistic goal.
Houston is largely a one-man show featuring Durant, not unlike the Mavs' setup with Flagg. So let's make that the first focus of the climb, the first milestone. Let's see if Dallas can build a roster that, when it comes time to compete with KD and Houston, can cause the Rockets to fizzle out again.
