{"id":890587,"date":"2026-09-13T14:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/890587\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T14:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:18:10","slug":"south-west-notes-kyrie-irving-rockets-daniel-gafford-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/890587\/","title":{"rendered":"South West Notes: Kyrie Irving, Rockets, Daniel Gafford, And More"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Southwest Division continues to attract plenty of attention ahead of the 2026-27 season, with Kyrie Irving\u2019s<\/a> future in Dallas drawing interest around the league, the Rockets<\/a> facing big decisions about their core, and a lot more.<\/p>\n

The Rockets have been mentioned as one of the most logical landing spots<\/a> for Kyrie Irving if the Mavericks<\/a> eventually decide to make the nine-time All-Star tradeable. USA Today\u2019s Wajih AlBaroudi<\/a> recently identified the Rockets as a potential destination, arguing that Irving could provide the offensive punch the Rockets have significantly lacked in the backcourt.<\/p>\n

\u201cFred VanVleet\u2019s torn ACL just before the 2025-26 season derailed what could\u2019ve been a special season for the Rockets, who have become a defensive juggernaut under Ime Udoka. Irving would provide the Rockets some much-needed scoring punch, plus Houston has an array of defenders to cover up Irving\u2019s deficiencies on that end.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reunion with Kevin Durant would obviously add another interesting layer to the idea. Irving and Durant previously played together with the Brooklyn Nets<\/a>, but they never went deep in the playoffs together. But for now, this interest remains speculative.<\/p>\n

Marc Stein reported<\/a> that the Mavericks have rejected trade offers for Irving this offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mavericks, as we\u2019ve been writing since mid-June, have consistently swatted away trade interest this offseason in nine-times-an-All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. Rival teams, however, continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance once the season begins and the next in-season trade deadline on Feb. 11 gradually approaches. The primary factor fueling that curiosity, of course, is that fact that Irving is 34 and Mavericks star forward Cooper Flagg is 19. Not your average age gap between the team\u2019s two best players.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBA teams are nevertheless looking around, hoping that their stance could get softer around the February 11 trade deadline<\/a>, as the Mavericks are hoping that they could rebuild Kyrie Irving\u2019s trade value<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the Rockets continue to explore other changes this offseason, Amen Thompson<\/a> does not appear to be someone the franchise wants, or is even thinking of moving. ESPN\u2019s Tim MacMahon reported on the Hoop Collective podcast that Thompson is viewed internally as the league\u2019s most valuable player<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s one untradeable player on the roster, it is him. According to their metrics, they think he\u2019s one of the top 10 most valuable players in the league. I\u2019m just telling you how they view him. So, for them to get a player they value that much on this deal is great value for them. For Amen Thompson: $208 million, fully guaranteed, and there are no options either way\u2026 he\u2019s set for life. He wants to be in Houston, and he\u2019s going to be in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rockets reinforced that belief by signing Thompson to a five-year, $208 million extension, and their long-term hierarchy is becoming increasingly clear. Thompson appears to be one of the Rockets\u2019 players that they could build around, even if the roster changes over the years.<\/p>\n

But that same level of security might not necessarily be there for Alperen Sengun<\/a>. Sportsnaut\u2019s Jason Burgos\u00a0suggested that<\/a> Sengun could become a trade candidate if the Rockets fail to establish themselves as a proper contender early in the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Durant would be tough to move and the Rockets view Thompson as \u201cuntradable,\u201d according to McMahon, that puts Sengun in a precarious position. It also doesn\u2019t help that his performance in the playoffs has made some question his value. While he played better before their elimination in the spring, there was a lot of talk about whether Sengun had the inner fortitude necessary to carry the Rockets in a postseason series.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Rockets play well with a returning Fred VanVleet, the trade speculation will disappear. However, if they are a middle-of-the-road team in the West, the Sengun trade speculation will intensify. And for a two-time All-Star in his early 20s, Houston could get at least two future first-round picks in a potential trade. So the front office must take calls if they get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rockets were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs last year, despite adding Durant<\/a>, which has increased the pressure on the organization to produce results. The logic is straightforward, as Durant could be difficult to move for anything close to what the Rockets paid to get him, and Thompson is considered off-limits. And that could leave Sengun as the most valuable asset that the Rockets could consider moving. But still, there is no indication that the Rockets are actively shopping Sengun. If the Rockets perform well, that speculation could quickly end. This discussion would become far more relevant if the Rockets spent the first half of the season stuck in the middle of the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

If the Mavericks decide to begin reshaping their roster, Daniel Gafford<\/a> could be immediately more available than Irving. Heavy.com\u2019s Sean Deveney<\/a> identified Gafford as the most likely trade candidate because the Mavericks are interested in getting younger.<\/p>\n

\u201cGafford will be 28 in October, and with the Mavs focused on getting younger, moving him along has been one of the team\u2019s top options. They\u2019re hoping to get a first-round pick for Gafford, but that might be a big ask because of his contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBA reporter Evan Sidery also reported that the Mavericks are seeking one first-round pick for Gafford. That asking price could determine whether any deal happens. Gafford remains a solid rim-running center, but a three-year commitment worth approximately $18 million per year could make some teams picky about surrendering a first-round pick.<\/p>\n

The Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> have some major roster decisions to make. Jake Fischer initially identified Walter Clayton Jr. as someone who could be vulnerable to being waived, but later amended that outlook. According to Marc Stein, Fischer now believes Clayton has a good chance to make the regular-season roster.<\/p>\n

The problem is just numbers. The Grizzlies currently have 19 players on non-guaranteed contracts competing for 15 roster spots, which means that four players ultimately need to be removed<\/a>. That has to happen either through a trade or by cutting or waiving them, and the Grizzlies need to make their decision soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Southwest Division continues to attract plenty of attention ahead of the 2026-27 season, with Kyrie Irving\u2019s future…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":890588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-890587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}