A sneaky Kevin Durant landing spot that makes a ton of sense

Durant is the biggest name on the market and is the best available asset to get a team on the cusp of a championship over the hump.

The Kevin Durant trade market is heating up, and he has narrowed down his list of preferred landing spots. The Suns are reportedly working with Kevin Durant to find his next destination, but are not beholden to Durant’s requests either. At the beginning of the Durant sweepstakes, there were six known teams in the mix for landing the aging’ superstar’s talents. But, there were also about half a dozen other teams that were not named but had shown interest.

The Cleveland Cavaliers appeared to be one of those teams earlier this week when Brett Siegel reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers had checked in with the Phoenix Suns on Kevin Durant. An all-in move for a Cavaliers team that finished with the second-best record in the NBA but again fell short in the playoffs.

Later in the week, Sam Amico at Hoopswire reported that the Cavaliers are a “definite no” on Kevin Durant. A report that should be taken at face value, but as we know in the NBA, teams (especially owners) have a habit of changing their minds. Now, if the Suns were to trade Durant to Cleveland, it would add another intriguing layer to the ongoing feud between Mat Ishbia and Dan Gilbert. A beef that I am certain negates any chance of the future Hall of Fame scorer ending up a Cleveland Cavalier.

But it is the offseason, and I can dream, so, however farfetched a trade to Cleveland might be, I decided to see what a potential trade could look like and why it would work for both Cleveland and Phoenix.

With both teams over the second apron, it makes a trade between the two franchises almost impossible. Enter a third team that has an incentive to tank next season and gain assets: the Brooklyn Nets.

When the Nets traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for expiring salaries and picks, they announced themselves to the rest of the league as a team looking to rebuild, which numbered the days of Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson in Brooklyn. Johnson was shopped at the deadline in February, but was not traded because Brooklyn did not like the return they would have gotten. Claxton is an athletic rim running center who has shown flashes of elite level defensive play and physicality. He is a center that the majority of playoff teams would gladly welcome to its roster and start right away.

Now to the trade…

Phoenix hits a home run

The Suns reunite with fan favorite Cam Johnson and find a starting caliber center in Jarrett Allen while gaining another rotation caliber wing in Isaac Okoro. Suns fans could not dream of a better, realistic return for Kevin Durant if they tried. Phoenix improves dramatically defensively, gains experienced and proven players, increases its length and the trade gives ownership a competitive roster that will compete for a playoff seed in the West. The Suns front office has been given the task of find a needle in the haystack, and this is as close as they could get.

Now to the drawbacks, It is possible that the Suns might have to give up draft compensation to get the Nets to part with Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton and the eighth overall pick, but giving up a couple late first round picks should not make Ishbia or the Suns fans sweat at this point.

Why Cleveland does the trade?

This is where it gets interesting. The Cavaliers have the most to gain and the most to lose in a Durant trade. If Cleveland decides to go all in, trading for Durant and Claxton gives them the best shot at a championship next season. They gain one of the best scorers in NBA history, who has played 62 and 75 games in the previous two seasons. With this trade, Mitchell shifts to the point guard position, Durant slots in as the small forward, making the Cavaliers an extremely long and athletic team. The Cavaliers trade Allen, who has lacked playoff physicality the past two seasons, for a younger Claxton. They also trade Garland, who has struggled to stay healthy during his career and is the target of opposing teams’ offensive game plans, but that is not all…

What finally gets Cleveland to accept the trade is Brooklyn’s 2025 first-round pick. The Cavaliers are currently a second apron team, and need to figure out a way to get below the second apron but stay at the top of the conference. With Durant’s current contract expiring at the end of the 2025-26 season, the Cavaliers would either have to extend the 37-year-old superstar or let him walk in free agency. A daunting decision that could end their championship window early, or enable them to be a championship favorite for the next three seasons. Getting a crack at the No. 8 pick is the perfect failsafe option for Cleveland because they get a young, inexpensive lottery talent. The Cavaliers would have a chance at drafting Jeremiah Fears or another point guard for the future.

Does Brooklyn say yes?

In a vacuum, giving up Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton for Darius Garland is a win for Brooklyn. The Nets need franchise cornerstones to build around, and Johnson and Claxton are not those pieces. Garland is a cornerstone piece, but his availability next season is up in the air because of an offseason toe surgery. The Nets will have no motivation to bring him back quickly because they will want to tank for an even better pick next season.

Giving up the number eight pick is where this trade gets dicey. The whole point of tanking like the Nets did this season is to get into the lottery and hit on lottery talent. This draft is loaded with talent, and it would be hard to pass up a pick so high even for Garland. The Nets would need to value Garland as a better prize than whoever is potentially available at eight which is why the Nets would hold off on this potential trade until draft night to see if anyone were to fall. The Suns might even have to throw some picks in to entice the Nets as well.

Durant’s value

Any Suns fan, media member, and executive knows that they are not getting back what they gave up for Durant. However, that does not mean they have to settle for Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, and Keldon Johnson. Durant is the biggest name on the market and is the best available asset to get a team on the cusp of a championship over the hump.

You know the accolades, the scoring barrages, and his abilities. The Suns failed to build around Devin Booker and Durant, but he was still one of the best players in the world wearing purple and orange. While he is not at his peak anymore, he is still a top 20 player in the NBA, and he is the closer who can win you a championship. That is who the Suns are trading, and no matter where Durant wants to go, Phoenix still has avenues to get quite the return for one of the legends of the game.

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