Kevin Durant isn’t going anywhere, at least not yet. Although the Phoenix Suns made every effort to trade the star forward before the deadline last February, no team was interested in the 18-year veteran. But it turns out there was a compelling reason behind the apparent snub.
The Suns acquired Durant from the Brooklyn Nets in 2023, looking for a veteran to lead them to the NBA Finals. However, in those two years, the team has barely won a playoff series and looks no closer to advancing to the Finals than in the pre-KD era.
Not only do the Suns’ athletic goals remain out of reach, but Durant’s contract also weighs heavily on their payroll. Phoenix picked up the remainder of Brooklyn’s maximum veteran extension to the forward in 2022; the deal expires in 2026 and guarantees Durant $54.7 million in his final year.
There was a team interested in KD
With a nearly $55 million salary cap hit looming, the Suns desperately sought someone willing to trade Durant, and their pleas were answered. The Golden State Warriors wanted to bring back the player who led them to championships in 2017 and 2018. What happened then?
According to ESPN insider Brian Windhorst, Phoenix wanted a substantial return on the Durant deal. “One of the reasons there wasn’t a Durant trade in February, other than Durant himself making it clear he didn’t want one, is the Suns were looking for a massive haul in return, according to sources,” Windhorst explained.
“That’s why at the trade deadline the Suns held talks with a handful of teams about Durant trades, conversations that are likely to lead to action this summer,” the reporter explained. That is, although the deal fell through in February, it’s possible that Durant will still end up returning to the Bay Area next season.
Durant didn’t want to leave Phoenix
At the time, KD himself blocked the deal, making it clear that he wanted to stay with the Suns. “I just didn’t want to get traded midway through the season,” the player explained to ESPN’s Malika Andrews. He stated that he wanted to know how far he could go with the team, denying rumors of a feud with Draymond Green or issues with the team.
With the regular season about to end and the Suns still in with a chance to snatch a playoff berth, the question surrounding Kevin Durant’s future is far from resolved. Maybe in a couple of months, we’ll be talking about that multi-million dollar contract again and where we’ll see KD next season.
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