The Golden State Warriors believe they had an agreement in place with the Phoenix Suns to acquire Kevin Durant though that was contingent on him wanting a return to the franchise he left in 2019. Durant expressed a reluctance to return to the Warriors and a preference to finish out the season with the Phoenix Suns.
“The Golden State Warriors, I talk to people around there, they really feel like they had an agreement in place to go get Kevin Durant and bring him back,” said Shams Charania. “The only problem was Kevin Durant did not want to go back he wanted to finish out the season in Phoenix. He wants to enjoy playing with this younger type of roster.”
Durant and the Suns are expected to reassess the situation in the offseason, which could result in a trade before he enters the final season of his current contract.
“This summer is going to be a different story,” added Charania. “I think there’s going to be some hard conversations between the Suns and Kevin Durant and communicating and figuring out his future.”
For their part, the Warriors pivoted to a trade for Jimmy Butler with the Miami Heat.