NBA insiders seem to think Kevin Durant could be headed out of Phoenix as early as next week. A move for Durant would certainly send shockwaves through the NBA just before the NBA Draft in a few weeks.
Durant could warrant as high as a top-five pick in this year’s draft, depending on which team pulls the trigger. But it’s most likely that Durant would end up on a real contender and less of a pretender like the Suns, which didn’t even win a playoff series while he was in Arizona.
The Suns are in an interesting position because they need to not only recoup draft capital, but also recoup players to truly rebuild this roster. They went all in on a core of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal and it hasn’t yielded anything other than disappointment. As they look to recoup on their failed investment, here’s who the Suns might have to deal with for a Durant trade.
On the other side, here’s where Durant could ultimately land as, even at 36 years old, he is still a sought-after star.
3 teams in focus for a Kevin Durant trade as rumors pick up
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an intriguing team in this scenario. They have a decent team and might be a star away from competing in the Eastern Conference — certainly next season with Jayson Tatum out for presumably the entire year. If they end up getting Durant in the next week or so, it could catapult them back to the top of the conference.
I think of the three teams that are the “top” choice if you will, Miami is probably last on the totem pole. Durant probably wants to go to a team that’s already contending. The Heat would have to do some work to retool this roster as well as reclaim whatever they give up in a trade.
The Suns would probably be greedy, knowing they don’t have a lot of draft capital and need to essentially start from scratch. After this offseason is over, it’s very likely the only player left on the team from that core is Bradley Beal and I don’t know if they’re going to be interested in building around Beal.
I’m not sure what it would take for the Heat to get Durant, but if they were serious, they need to make sure they can give him confidence that they could have a contending roster around him. I think it would be hard for the Heat to keep Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, but if they do, that’s the first step in making sure they can contend in 2025.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have a realistic chance to land Durant. For one, they’re Western Conference contenders. They’ve reached the Western Conference Finals in each of the last two seasons and haven’t been able to get over the hump. They’re precisely a Kevin Durant away from playing for a championship. They have the capital too, in terms of Julius Randle or Rudy Gobert, either could be made available and enough to make the Suns interested, without giving up both Anthony Edwards or Jaden McDaniels.
Minnesota has a lot to offer and a lot to convince Durant it’s best for him to head up north. Again, Durant is going to a team that’s already a contender. The Timberwolves were a win or so away from being the No. 2 seed in the conference and ended up taking out the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round as a No. 6 seed.
This is Edwards' team and Durant wouldn’t take away from that. But Edwards needs help. Oklahoma City exposed the fact that if they take away the team’s best player, the Timberwolves can’t do much. The Thunder won’t be able to take out both Durant and Edwards for seven games. That’s why this move makes a lot of sense.
Houston Rockets
This is probably the move that is the most mutually beneficial. The Rockets have a young core that they could easily offload to land Durant. I could see Jalen Green being the most important piece in a deal. For Phoenix, they need a young player to build around and the Rockets probably won’t hesitate to move Green if it means getting Durant.
They could also smooth the deal with giving the Suns back their draft pick or even sending Jabari Smith Jr. out west as part of the deal. That would leave them with Fred Van Vleet, Alpren Sengun, and Amen Thompson. Throwing Durant would certainly make the Rockets the favorites to run the West.
This seems like the best move for both sides. The Rockets have the capital to retain a core while giving away assets the Suns would be interested in. In turn, the Rockets would become instant contenders.
3 dark horse that could enter the Kevin Durant sweepstakes this offseason
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs, like the Rockets, have the most potential to land Durant simply because they have the assets. San Antonio not only has the No. 2 pick in the draft later this month, but they also have some young players that could help the Suns build a respectable roster.
For me, the Rockets and Spurs are atop the list of landing spots for Durant just because it’s the most balanced move. While the Suns would be interested in getting as much as they can for Durant, they also don’t have to settle on a move.
Durant could very well force his way out, but keep in mind, the Suns have the leverage in making the deal that best suits them. If Durant doesn’t land in San Antonio or Houston, I’d be surprised. If he lands with the Spurs, the rest of the league better be very afraid. A team with two 7-foot scorers will wreak havoc on the NBA.
Toronto Raptors
The biggest leverage the Toronto Raptors have in trading for Durant is a draft pick. They have RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes as pieces as well. While they’ll probably like to build a core around them, I think the Suns would want to force Toronto’s hand in trying to get Barnes in a deal.
The only thing I don’t like in this deal is the Raptors are far from being a team that will make some postseason noise. I think the East belongs to the Indiana Pacers right now, as well as the New York Knicks — for now.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have some holes in their roster and the Boston Celtics will be going through a weird year with their star out for most of the season. Durant needs to be on a team that will win a championship within the next two years. Are the Raptors really equipped to win one? Probably not. But then again, no one expected them to win one over the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
If the Raptors did go after Durant, that would create a logjam of tall, scoring wings with Barnes and Brandon Ingram, whom they traded for at the trade deadline. I think the Suns could be interested in Ingram as well in a deal which would be ideal for Toronto.
Either way, unless the Raptors prove their contenders, their assets won’t matter in a deal for Durant.
Los Angeles Clippers
I’m not sure if I like this. The Clippers have a solid team already and I don’t know if adding Durant really solves their issues. They went to seven games against the Denver Nuggets, which is optimistic. The Clippers’ biggest problem is they aren’t always healthy. They have a lot of issues when it comes to player availability.
We saw, when they’re healthy, they’re a dark horse team in the West. Well, they’re a dark horse team in the Durant sweepstakes because it just doesn’t seem worth overhauling their roster for a player.
Even if they could retain one of James Harden or Kawhi Leonard, would it really result in a championship? Durant and Harden didn’t even play 50 games together in Brooklyn. That failed experiment showed it wouldn’t work and it probably won’t work with Leonard either.
And what do the Suns gain in a deal for an aging Harden or an aging and unreliable Leonard? I guess if they can put together something worth the Suns thinking about, maybe, but I just don’t see a deal being better than what the Spurs, Rockets or even Timberwolves could offer.