On July 6, 2024, the Dallas Mavericks completed a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors to acquire Kevin Durant’s former Bay Area teammate, Klay Thompson. The deal made history, becoming the first trade in NBA history to involve six teams. One year later, Durant’s move to the Houston Rockets broke that record.
Initially, it seemed like the deal only involved the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns, but the full details revealed that it grew to become the first seven-team trade in NBA history.
The full trade involved the Suns, Rockets, Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. In total, six players were traded, along with one first-round draft pick, 12 second-round draft picks, and Houston made a second-round pick swap along with cash considerations to Atlanta.
Rockets:
Houston won 52 games last year and, as part of the trade, added Durant and Clint Capela, who will help the team reclaim a top-five playoff seed. They were also able to resign Jabari Smith Jr and acquire Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency after the trade. The Rockets were the clear winners of the deal, giving up relatively little in return for Durant and securing their spot in the playoffs next season.
Warriors:
Golden State did lose out on Koby Brea, who was taken 41st overall by the Suns, but in return, they were able to acquire the draft rights to Alex Toohey and Jamal Mashack. They would ultimately trade Mashack for Will Richard. They now have a chance to develop two experienced young players who Warriors General Manager, Mike Dunleavy, believes are not far away from making the rotation. The future is uncertain for Jonathan Kuminga, so it is smart for the Warriors to acquire more experienced young talent.
Timberwolves:
Minnesota snuck into the historic trade when they sent their 31st pick to the Suns. They acquired two future second-round picks and the 36th pick, which they traded to the Lakers for the 45th pick and cash considerations. That late-round draft pick became Rocco Zikarsky, a 7’3″, 18-year-old Australian, who they can develop behind Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves turned their 31st pick into a promising young center, two future second-round picks, and extra cash.
Thompson and Durant are forever linked in NBA history for winning two championships alongside one another, but now they will also be connected to two of the largest multi-team trades of all time. As the NBA trade market has grown over the years, it begs the question: Are deals for superstars becoming too complicated? Or are teams willing to overcomplicate deals for superstars to maximize the number of teams that prosper from the departure of an all-time player?
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