Grade the trade: Hypothetical blockbuster sending Kevin Durant back to Golden State

As is typical, the Phoenix Suns' playoff exit was immediately met by a slew of trade rumors. Everyone involved seemed to be saying the right things about keeping the core together and the value of continuity in hoping for a different outcome next season. But the reality is hard to ignore — Kevin Durant will be one year older, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal continue to struggle with injuries and availability and the current roster just doesn't have enough depth to compete in a stacked Western Conference.

The most obvious way for the Suns to improve their depth is trading one of their three perimeter stars and that would almost certainly have to be Durant, considering Booker is currently the best of the bunch while Beal carries an enormous contract and barely counts as a star anymore.

If the Suns were to shop Durant they'd likely have their pick of offers but his former team, the Golden State Warriors, might be able to assemble the most compelling package. It's not clear how willing Durant would be to amicably rejoin his former team but there's a lot to like for everyone in a hypothetical trade.

What would it take for Kevin Durant to get traded to the Golden State Warriors?

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently proposed a trade that would allow the Warriors to get the band back together.

If both teams are committed to making some changes, this actually could make a lot of sense. The Warriors get a bona fide star and primary scorer to pair with Steph Curry, juicing their offense and creating lineups and structures that they know have worked in the past. They'd be mortgaging a good deal of their future but it might be worth it for a much-improved shot at a ring.

For the Suns, they give up a huge offensive weapon and their second-best player but address their biggest weakness with a ton of depth and a lot more defensive versatility. Kuminga is on the verge of breaking out, Moody looks like he can be a solid rotation player if he can just get some consistent minutes and Wiggins still has a lot of two-way value despite his contract and slide last season. And a 2025 first-round pick from the Warriors is not nothing when there's always the potential for a veteran team to fall apart quickly.

The argument against this trade is that the two teams are basically just swapping problems. The Suns weren't good enough last season with a high-powered perimeter scoring attack and a total lack of depth. The Warriors would basically be in the same situation and arguably worse off considering they were already undersized and wouldn't even have a Jusuf Nurkic to plug in. The Suns would be counting on the Wiggins/Kuminga/Moody grouping to be enough in the aggregate to get their star duo of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal over the top but if that threesome couldn't do the same for Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson last season why should the Suns think it will work for them?

Ultimately, the success of this hypothetical trade for either side would come down to what else they're able to get done over the offseason. Can the Warriors waive Chris Paul and then coax him back at a discount? Can they sign someone like Goga Bitadze on the cheap to help address their lack of size? Can they count on Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis to keep improving? Can they add some additional low-cost 3-and-D depth? For the Suns, can they re-sign Royce O'Neale and convince Drew Eubanks to pick up his player option? Can they find one more ball-handler and creator without breaking the bank?

In the end, I like what's here but making this trade seems more about embracing risk and uncertainty than anything else. (Maybe that's why I like it?).

Warriors Grade: B+
Suns Grade: B-