It’s been assumed in recent weeks that Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is entering his final slate of games with the organization.
The future Hall-of-Fame forward was connected to several teams leading up to the February trade deadline and has since been at the center of countless trade pitches.
Durant suffered a left ankle sprain during his team’s loss against the Houston Rockets on Sunday and he’s expected to miss at least one week, meaning that his availability for the Play-In Tournament (should the Suns qualify) is uncertain. Phoenix enters Thursday in 11th place in the Western Conference standings at 35-41, just one game behind the Sacramento Kings (36-40) for the final spot in the tournament.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale got involved in the trend of predicting KD’s next team on Wednesday, laying out five possible landing spots for Durant.
He listed the New York Knicks as the fifth-most likely group to acquire Durant (who has one year and $54.7 million left on his deal with Phoenix) this summer. Favale ranked the five teams based on “combining the appeal of KD’s fit on the roster and the likelihood that the team will enter the running for his services.”
Durant’s original team (not counting the defunct Seattle SuperSonics) in the Oklahoma City Thunder ranked fourth on the list.
Thunder Can ‘Make the Math Work’ to Land KD
After spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Thunder/SuperSonics, the 15-time All-Star signed with the Golden State Warriors in July 2016. Three years later, however, Durant was traded to the Brooklyn Nets to team up with Kyrie Irving.
After failing to advance past the conference semifinals with Irving and later James Harden in Brooklyn, the former MVP demanded a move and was sent to the Suns in a monster four-team deal in February 2023. Durant, along with Devin Booker and Chris Paul, fell to the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals that spring and after losing Paul to the Warriors and adding Bradley Beal, were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Having already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, Oklahoma City (64-12) is one of the favorites to win the NBA title this summer, perhaps for the first time since Durant led the team to its only finals appearance since relocating, in 2012.
With that, Favale notes that the Thunder aren’t a team that “necessarily needs KD” and “may win the whole damn thing this year.”
“Any interest in Durant is contingent upon a playoff run short-circuited by the offense. That is not as likely to happen as last year if you’re paying attention. It is also not outside the realm of possibility,” he wrote. “Durant is among the most plug-and-play superstars in league history. The Thunder don’t have to worry about his arrival derailing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren. They also have the draft-pick stash and room beneath the luxury tax to make the math work without obliterating too much of the rotation.”
Favale mentioned two specific players who could be at the center of a Thunder-to-Suns package in exchange for Durant.
“Building a package around Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe works on its own. Oklahoma City can sub in Aaron Wiggins for Joe and add another smaller salary, too. Attaching draft equity to the latter package seems like it’ll be more up the Suns’ alley,” he wrote. “Either way, this can be a two- or three-for-one structure. That’s eminently doable over the offseason. If not for the sheer ‘Will they even look at KD?’ of it all, the Thunder would rank much higher.”
Warriors Named Another Possible Reunion Spot
While he listed the Rockets and Timberwolves at first and second, respectively, in his “Landing Spots” post, Favale also included another possible reunion spot with the Warriors at No. 3.
For months, Golden State has been one of the teams most frequently connected to Durant. The Warriors even had a trade package lined up to reacquire Durant in February before he reportedly made it known he didn’t want to return to the Bay Area.
“During an appearance on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis, KD intimated his decision was more about the midseason timing than the idea of a reunion itself. That opens the door for Golden State to rekindle talks with Phoenix,” the Bleacher Report scribe wrote. “Reopening that door is complicated. It gets slightly easier if the Suns still want (Jimmy) Butler and the Warriors prefer Durant to him. That’s not impossible should Golden State believe it can approximate his playmaking, rim pressure, foul-drawing and overall scoring through KD and Jonathan Kuminga. The Warriors would miss Butler’s defense, but fewer redundancies between Durant and Kuminga could elevate the offense.”
If Butler and/or Kuminga aren’t involved, Favale sees one other way that the Warriors could potentially bring back Durant.
“Failing that, Golden State could look to build a package around Draymond Green. Both he and Suns team governor Mat Ishbia are from Michigan, Devin Booker is best served playing beside a decision-making big, and Green remains good enough to anchor a defense,” Favale wrote. “Fleshing out the rest of the package is somewhat challenging. Including Buddy Hield is a start. Giving up Moses Moody is tough. He and Butler become even more critical to the defense without Green. The Warriors likely need the Suns (if they get out of the second apron) or a helping hand to be interested in a Kuminga sign-and-trade to bring any non-Butler package together.”
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