At a time like this, on the last day NBA teams are eligible to swap players throughout the league, there’s generally an intense fixation on every last detail of every single deal. Even fans on Twitter ask: What did the pick protections look like? How has Player X shot the ball from deep over the last month? What does this trade mean for the team’s long-term cap situation?
If those things matter to armchair fans, they obviously matter even more to the teams who are finalizing the high-stakes deals to begin with. But in thinking about the huge deal the Suns made for Kevin Durant, the nitty-gritty details almost feel secondary for one simple reason: After this last year and change, Durant and this Phoenix club seem to desperately need each other.
Durant, coming off a controversial yet enchanted run of two titles with Golden State, opted to pack his bags for Brooklyn as he recovered from his Achilles tear. He and close friend Kyrie Irving joined the Nets together, but the marriage was a failed one of epic proportions.
