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 F

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