The Kevin Durant saga is reportedly getting close to a resolution, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Charania, speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, said that the focus of the Phoenix Suns has turned towards Durant heading to either Minnesota, Houston, or Miami.
“I think a Kevin Durant trade could happen in the next few days,” Charania said. “In the last 24 hours, the focus has been on the Rockets, the Heat, and the Minnesota Timberwolves.”
Kevin Durant Trade Saga: Evaluating The 3 Reported Finalists For Suns Star & When Will It Happen
While the Durant trade has seemingly been fast-tracked, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports reported that there is a belief among NBA circles that it will be completed before or at the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25. Helin added that don’t be surprised if the trade is held close to the vest until the NBA Finals are concluded.
“You know what really pisses off Adam Silver and the NBA league office,” Helin said. “When a team makes a big trade that upstages the NBA Finals. The league has made a concerted effort in recent years to refocus games on the court rather than on the rumor mill and trade speculation. ”
The Oklahoma City Thunder tied their NBA Finals series with Indiana last night at 2-2. Game 5 of the Finals is Monday. If the series goes seven games, it won’t end until June 22 or three days before the NBA draft.
Based on Charania’s reporting, that means that the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are out of the running for Durant. The Knicks and Spurs were previously included in Charania’s list of likely destinations for Durant.
It comes as no surprise that the Knicks don’t want any part of a Durant trade. The Knicks have an extremely productive starting lineup that has the potential to stay together for years. The Knicks don’t have many assets to trade and just recently made “three blockbusters” recently.
Now, San Antonio is a little more surprising. While the Spurs were reportedly one of Durant’s preferred destinations, they are not necessarily considered contenders. Plus, the status of Victor Wembanyama is unknown after he underwent surgery on the deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Additionally, it is unknown if the Spurs were unwilling to part with key assets.
Examining The Teams In Mix For Durant
Before taking a look at the teams remaining in contention for Durant, what does the Suns want in return? There are some interesting considerations for the teams that are now in contention.
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontempts and Brian Windhorst, his land spot has to be somewhere Durant is invested in going. The duo added that the team that trades for Durant “will likely need to be willing to consider giving Durant an extension of more than $60 million per season for his age-38 and age-39 seasons.”Durant will make $54.7 million this season.
Including Durant, Phoenix has 10 players under contract with a salary cap hit of $218 million for the 2025-26 season. Therefore, the Suns are over $11 million over the second apron. Vasilije Micic does have a $8.1 million team option, though the Suns are not expected to exercise it. There are rumors that Micic is expected to return overseas with Fenerbache.
In that case, Phoenix has nine players under contract for the upcoming season. The Suns need to get younger and improve their frontcourt. The Suns also need to add some a guard and some draft capital. They own the No. 29 pick in the upcoming June 25 draft.
“My expectation for the Suns’ return in a KD trade is a couple of rotation players to match salary, said Helin when talking about what Phoenix could get in a trade. “A young player with some potential, and one or two first-round picks (depending on how good they are perceived to be).”
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota is very interesting for Durant. Durant would give the Timberwolves another scorer and creator to complement Ant Edwards.
Minnesota has 13 players under contract with salaries totaling $192.3 million. But Julius Randle ($30.9 million) and Naz Reid ($15 million) have player options that they could decline.
The Timberwolves have reached the Western Conference finals in each of the last two years. But the Wolves came up short once again this year, falling to a more talented Oklahoma City squad. The concerning part for the Wolves was the disappointing performance of their offense, particularly their frontcourt.
Edwards was superb in the playoffs. While Randle played well in the postseason, his production declined in the conference finals, and turnovers were a recurring issue. Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley were non-factors offensively in the playoffs and essentially nonexistent against the Thunder.
Here Is A Look At Two Timberwolves Hypothetical Trades for Durant
ESPN’s Bobby Marks’ proposal: Suns get Durant in exchange for Gobert, Conley, Donte DiVincenzo, and the No. 17 pick in 2025.
Ben Cooper’s of ClutchPoint’s proposal: Suns get Durant in exchange for Randle (via opt-in or sign-and-trade), DiVincenzo, Rob Dillingham, Luka Garza, and No. 17 pick in 2025.
Marks proposal makes little sense for Phoenix as it doesn’t provide the Suns much. Gobert is the rim protector that the Suns need, and DiVincenzo is a nice role player on a reasonable contract. The first-round pick will help the Suns get a little younger, but this deal also adds money to the Suns’ cap.
I like Cooper’s proposal. The tricky part may be getting Randle to agree since he has to opt into his deal. Dillingham is a promising young point guard, who didn’t get a lot of run last year with the Wolves but was productive in January when he averaged 16 minutes a game. Additionally, the Suns would save between $3 million and $5 million in salary cap space.
Houston Rockets
Houston has a lot of trade assets, and the Rockets need a reliable score. It will be interesting to see the package they offer. The Rockets are reportedly one of Durant’s top two destinations.
“A league source informed The Republic the Rockets would be the ideal landing spot for Durant, saying they need a ‘go-to guy’ in the fourth quarter and have draft picks and young players to offer the Suns in return,” The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin said. “Rockets coach Ime Udoka also has a relationship with Durant. Udoka was an assistant in Brooklyn in the 2020-21 season when Durant was with the Nets.”
The Rockets have 13 players under contract with a salary cap hit of $190.28 million, although they have some flexibility. Fred VanVleet ($44.8 million) and Aaron Holiday ($4.9 million) have team options.
ESPN Insider Trade Proposal: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, No. 10 pick in 2025 and a 2027 first-round pick.
Jed Katz of Sports Illustrated Mock Trade: Suns get Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green along with draft capital, including 2025 No. 10 pick for Durant.
The Verdict
While the Rockets have numerous options to make a deal work with the Suns, I prefer ESPN’s proposal. The Suns are getting younger with Whitmore, Sheppard, and the two draft picks, both of which could be very valuable. They also save over $11 million in cap space with this deal. The 2027 first-round selection was previously the Suns before they traded it to Houston.
“The Rockets are a natural trade partner for the Suns for two main reasons,” ESPN Insiders said. “First, Durant slots neatly into Houston’s largest hole. Thanks to a shiny young core and ferocious defense, the Rockets are rising in the West. But they lack the go-to scorer required to lead a contender and rank just 25th in half-court offense this season, per Cleaning the Glass.”
“In the meantime, this return could also help Phoenix put together a competitive roster around Devin Booker and avoid a full rebuild. Brooks is a useful 3-and-D wing on a declining contract who could plug one hole in the Suns’ porous perimeter defense. Sheppard hasn’t found his footing in his rookie season in Houston, but the No. 3 pick offers more upside than any player on Phoenix’s roster. So too does Whitmore, an occasionally electric scorer (career 22 points per 36 minutes) who hasn’t checked enough other boxes to earn more of coach Ime Udoka’s trust.”
Miami Heat
Miami is a little bit of an oddity fit for Durant, but he is familiar with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who was an assistant on Team USA’s gold-medal effort at last summer’s Paris Olympics. The Heat does have the assets to trade for Durant, such as Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson, Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, and Jaime Jaquez Jr., along with draft capital.
“Kevin Durant would fit in anywhere, but I feel like he fits in Miami Heat culture,” Udonis Haslem said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I can’t speak too much on it, but I would say he’s a guy who comes in and just has to be Kevin Durant.”
The Heat would realistically have to involve another team to have a chance for Durant realistically. The reason, as ESPN Insider points out, is that if the Heat doesn’t offer more money than Durant’s salary, they will be hard-capped at the first apron.
Los Angeles Clippers
Like the Heat, the Clippers seem like a long shot for Durant. While Charania didn’t include the Clippers in his report, Helin and, Bontempts and Windhorst mentioned them as a possible suitor.
Adding Durant would once again give the Clippers a Big 3 and re-unite Durant and James Harden. However, the Durant-Harden experiment didn’t work out well for the Nets, and in the only year of the Clippers Big 3, they won 51 games and were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. Last year, LA won 50 contests and was eliminated in the first round despite the departure of Paul George.
“It would take a third team (or more) to make the math work,” Helin wrote. “But the Clippers could send depth to Phoenix in a trade offer centered around a sign-and-trade of Norman Powell, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and more, plus a first-round pick or two. We can assume that Harden,[Kawhi] Leonard, and [Ivica] Zubac are off-limits in a trade, but everyone else would be on the table.”
Last Word
At this point, with the exact packages teams are offering the Suns unknown, it appears that Durant will be heading to either Minnesota or Houston. The Timberwolves appear to be in a better situation for Durant if he wants a shot at another title. However, the Rockets are likely to be able to offer a more enticing package.
Photo Credit: © Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
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