While nothing at this deadline (or any trade ever, possibly) will match the shock value of the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade, the fact that the Phoenix Suns are exploring a Kevin Durant trade is very surprising on its own.
The Suns have been in go-go-go mode since Mat Ishbia purchased the team, sending out draft picks and talent willy-nilly to build an instant title contender around Devin Booker. While that obviously hasn't worked out the Suns have little recourse other than to march onwards and pray enough breaks right that they can make some noise in the postseason—a perception reinforced by the franchise's desperate pursuit of the disgruntled Jimmy Butler.
Or at least that's what the NBA world thought until this week, when rumors Durant might be on the move hit the wire. On Wednesday, ESPN insider Brian Windhorst took some time to explain why the Suns are interested in moving their future Hall of Fame forward and top scorer.
"They are at the end here," Windhorst said on Get Up. "The deadline is here. They have no Brad Beal trade. They are 25-24. They have a very aggressive owner. OK? Now they are examining, 'This team isn't working. We can't trade Beal. What are we going to do?'
"Durant has one year on his contract. So they have now begun entertaining, 'Should we trade Kevin Durant?' And they have begun those dicussions across the league."
Windy Watch: @WindhorstESPN details all the trade rumors from Jimmy Butler to Kevin Durant as the trade deadline approaches 🍿 pic.twitter.com/fFjgpVGR7F
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 5, 2025
While Durant has been his usual excellent self this version of the Suns is, indeed, not working. They're mediocre in every regard and Bradley Beal's reluctance to waive his no-trade clause means there is no tangible path to improvement or even just a change-up of the status quo— unless Durant gets put on the block. Then the options really open up.
It's still difficult to see how the Suns would get better without Durant, which is really the issue at hand. Phoenix does not control its own draft pick until 2032. There is no way to rebuild. There is only trying to win with the core the team built, or trying to retool on the fly. The latter is a lot harder than the former.
But it sounds as though the Suns have reached the point where they're willing to try. And it could result in Durant being on the move yet again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Insider Explains Why Suns Might Trade Kevin Durant .
