The Whiteboard: Kevin Durant's murky future and the best offseason landing spots

The wildest story of the NBA trade deadline somehow wasn't the Luka Doncic trade.

Okay, fine, it was the Luka Doncic trade. But the sudden Kevin Durant trade buzz was a close second. It really came out of nowhere. For weeks, we heard about the Phoenix Suns trying to swap Bradley Beal for Jimmy Butler. Totally reasonable. Any team with a chance to swap Beal for Butler should.

When it became clear that Beal was not leaving [insert Leo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street], however, those rumors quickly shifted to Durant. Might the Suns swap Durant for Butler, or send KD to the Warriors in a roundabout effort to land Butler from Miami?

Those rumblings came as quite a shock. Durant did not ask for a trade, clearly. He did veto a reunion with Golden State (and apparently several other teams), but the Suns put the 14-time All-Star on the chopping block and freely took calls ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Nothing materialized in time, but now it's only logical to expect Durant trade talks to pick back up in the offseason.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst believes Durant is rather miffed about the whole situation (h/t NBA Central).

"He was not happy he was put into trade talks. I think it's unpredictable what will happen for the next few months because it's the nature of the sport, but I think right now it is reasonable to forecast that Durant will be breaking up with the Suns in the summer."

This is completely understandable on Durant's part. He committed verbally to the Suns time and time again, despite their on-court futility. Durant has appeared content in Phoenix by all accounts, so the Suns going behind his back to field trade offers probably felt something like disrespect.

With a murky offseason on the horizon, however, where should Durant end up? It's a fascinating question.

With Kevin Durant as good as gone in Phoenix, here's where he should end up

Frankly, Durant's decision to shoot down a Warriors reunion was a bummer. For someone who so clearly cares about perception, returning to a franchise he spurned and rebuilding broken bridges would have been a nice salve for his "legacy," whatever we take that word to mean in these parts. It would've also just been cool to see him and Steph Curry on the same team again, even if it's not as electric now as it was a few years ago.

In turning down Golden State (and apparently Memphis, with several other teams supposedly placing phone calls), Durant sets the table for a hectic trade sweepstakes this upcoming summer. When you think about it from the Suns' perspective, it's really the only path forward. Beal is immovable and Devin Booker is your franchise bedrock. Durant is the only trade-worthy asset of value for an asset-poor franchise stuck in cap hell, with a desperate need to change something. The Suns as is aren't good enough, and there's no way to instigate meaningful change without transforming the expiring contract of 36-year-old Durant into a decent haul.

Here are a few teams that just... make sense.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Jon Krawczynski and Sam Amick of The Athletic believe Durant would have accepted a trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves because of Anthony Edwards. The Wolves are out of decent draft picks to trade and, frankly, short on valuable long-term assets of any kind, but Durant's expiring contract will give him plenty of leverage in the offseason. He knows he's getting traded now and he will get to hand-pick his destination, to a certain extent.

The Wolves are stuck between a rock and a hard place after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. There's reason to be weary of trading for a late-30s fading star, but Durant is still really good, and he'd bring a dynamism this Wolves offense desperately needs. The fit between Edwards and Durant is extremely strong, and Minnesota can put a solid defensive apparatus around Durant as he ages into the next stage of his career.

Edwards, Durant, and Gobert might do something together. That is much closer to the skill balance of last season's conference finals team. The window would be short, but the Wolves don't have much to trade, so the price can't be steep. Might as well explore it.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat and Suns danced around a potential KD and Butler swap before the latter was shipped to Golden State in Durant's place. Miami has, obviously, been interested in Durant for a while. One has to think the interest is mutual. That is a world-class organization with an all-time great coach in Erik Spoelstra.

Miami is, frankly, the ideal destination for an older star. There is a commitment to fitness upkeep in the Heat organization that really isn't matched elsewhere in the league. The Spoelstra factor is real, too. We have seen Spo navigate Butler's waning prime, as well as maximizing countless "aging" stars like Kyle Lowry or, heck, Dwyane Wade. He knows how to put his best players in a position to succeed.

The Heat have enough infrastructure to put a contender around Durant. Tyler Herro has made the All-Star leap and Bam Adebayo remains an All-Defense candidate in the frontcourt. Kel'el Ware has been one of the most impressive rookies in the NBA this season. Andrew Wiggins is probably the foundation of a Durant trade package, but Miami has real pieces and the right organizational M.O. to accommodate Durant in his final years.

Oklahoma City Thunder

I'm not going to shut up about this. There are significant financial implications to any Durant trade, but the Oklahoma City Thunder still have Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren on rookie contracts for another season. Isaiah Hartenstein's $30 million salary is the perfect central return piece for the Suns, who need a proper defensive anchor more than any other NBA team.

Let's just say OKC reunites with Durant in the final year of his contract. The Thunder immediately become unchallenged championship favorites, at least in the Western Conference. Durant's primary weaknesses, such as a lack of rim pressure in his post-prime years, are perfectly mitigated by the rest of OKC's core. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA's preeminent slashing guard. The majority of OKC's rotation can get downhill and collapse a defense. Durant can set up shop behind the 3-point line and add another stretchy, floor-spacing presence next to Holmgren in the frontcourt. He is, in many ways, the missing piece for OKC's already-potent offense.

His defense has fallen off of late, but Durant can still roam on the weak side and make plays with his elastic wingspan. OKC has the scariest defensive core in the NBA, and Durant would fit in just fine. He's still Kevin Durant, y'all. We can nitpick a top-20 player all we want, but Durant is a hyper-efficient volume shooter who's not-so-secretly seven feet tall, with the playmaking chops necessary to operate as an offensive focal point when called upon.

If he lets his contract expire in OKC and re-signs at below market value, just in time to offset new max deals for J-Dub and Holmgren... this just might work. What better team for Durant to retire with (and potentially win a third ring with)?

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NBA news roundup:

• Ben Simmons and the Nets have agreed to terms on a contract buyout. He will speak with the Cavs, Clippers, and Rockets in an effort to join a contender ahead of the NBA playoffs. The last time we saw Simmons on the postseason stage, it blew up in spectacular fashion. He deserves a chance at redemption.

• "It's going to be weird, but that's what we sign up for," said Klay Thompson when asked about his expectations for the Dallas home crowd on Saturday. It will be the Mavs' first game at the American Airlines Center since trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, a trade that has understandably enraged the majority of the fanbase.

• Amid the uncertainty around Kevin Durant's future in Phoenix, Devin Booker appears secure in his position. "Devin Booker wants to be there his whole career," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst. It's increasingly uncommon for stars to stay put for a decade-plus, but Booker wants to see things through in a Suns uniform.

The Trail Blazers are making things happen

The Portland Trail Blazers have won six straight and are 9-1 in their last 10 games. What on earth is happening here? Portland entered the season as an obviously rebuilding team with low expectations and a head coach who historically inspires very little confidence. Portland did indeed come out of the gate slow, but something has shifted lately.

Portland did not complete a trade at the deadline. Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, and Robert Williams all survived the 3 PM buzzer on Thursday. We can argue the logic behind such inaction, but it signals legitimate confidence from Portland's front office. The Blazers are 2.5 games back of the Play-In Tournament out West. That no longer feels like an insane goal.

Quietly, the Blazers are well-stocked on high-level contributors. It's hard not to fall for the lovable underdog of it all. Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and Scoot Henderson comprise an electrifying backcourt. Henderson, after a bumpy rookie campaign and a slow start this season, is finally putting the pieces together. He's hitting 36.7 percent of his 3s and creating advantages with that explosive first step, which he is turning into viable scoring opportunities at the rim or advantageous passes. Keeping the faith with young point guards is generally wise.

Toumani Camara is one of the most fun defenders to watch in the NBA. Jerami Grant, still good. Deandre Ayton? Yeah, whatever, but Donovan Clingan looks great in his sparse minutes. Deni Avdija has been the malleable two-way wing connector we all expected going into the season. Portland has the talent to keep this run going. We can point to their soft recent schedule with a bit of trepidation, but momentum matters in this league. The Blazers are rolling!