Kevin Durant to be traded this offseason by Suns per Brian Windhorst

I'm not going to bother to post it, but Bobby Marks had a piece on ESPN insider this morning where he went over fake Durant trades, and it's basically

"Knicks offer OG Anunoby, Mavericks offer PJ Washington & Klay, Miami offers Duncan robinson & some crappy picks, meanwhile Houston offers Cam, Reed, Dillon and BOTH of PHX's unprotected 1sts; Houston is the winner!"

Now, I like Durant but there's no reason for the Rockets to bid against themselves - nobody else can offer anything close to that & the days of getting a giant haul for Durant, at age 36, with one year left on his deal are long gone.

 

Bobby Marks is high off his own butt fumes, or he's a big Phoenix fan, or both, if he even sees that trade as in the realm of possibility. Of course Phoenix would jump at such a deal. And Stone would be rightly excoriated.

 

Do you think Booker is "get able" in 2 years?

That way too much
FVV and a Pick should do (esp if it's pheonix's pick)

Rocket River

 

I think they'd demand a young guy with potential in return. That's okay, though, since we have a roster full of them.

 

It's basically going to come down to what team Durant wants to play for anyway, if he says the Rockets, then the Suns will be lucky to get much back outside of trade filler. It's been the going price for old players like him.

I think the best thing the Rockets can do to get Durant this offseason is not look like complete frauds in the playoffs. They have to be competitive and have to make it seem to Durant that if he were to come here he could help them get to the finals. Otherwise he's going to go to a more established team like the Knicks.

 

LOL - Called it. Just makes too much sense. Stone needs to do all he can to make that trade work with Rockets getting Naz Reid in return.

 

Agreed. I’d rather try to get Naz than old man Durant.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'd take KD depending on the compensation too. But Naz Reid makes too much sense in terms of age (25 yrs) and skills (ball handling stretch 4 shooting 41% 3P on volume).

Stone needs a hybrid of his playbook (build around bonafide all star) and Morey's (build around the next all star).

Naz, like James Harden, is former 6th man + was part of team that made it to Finals (Wolves made it to conference finals last season). Naz, like Harden, has unique skillset for his position. Naz, like Harden, is now hitting his prime + ready to break out.

Stone can one up Morey by getting his James Harden 6MOTY in Naz Reid AND his all star in same offseason. 2025 FRP plus 2 of young core + filler should be enough for Zion or LaMelo with their injury questions. Add few more FRP + Giannis or Booker may become options.

 

Great if he can do it
Will the Wolves be as foolish as the Thunder was?

Rocket River

 

Rockets I think will get LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball, Jusuf Nurkic for Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, Cam Whitmore, 2 Phoenix Picks

Jabari Smith expensive contract
Cam Whitmore wanting playing time.

 

I don’t even want to think about Wemby/KD/Fox and SA definitely has the assets to get a deal done. The Mavs are not an attractive destination anymore; KD is not saving Nico. Miami doesn’t have the assets. I don’t think LA has the assets either.

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/st...n-durant-trade-proposals-four-deals-suns-star

Houston Rockets

Rockets get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Phoenix; the 2025 first is conveyed after the May draft lottery)

Why it makes sense for both sides

The Rockets are a natural trade partner for the Suns for two main reasons. 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.

Even at 36, Durant would represent a major improvement in this area. He has a higher usage rate and much better true shooting percentage than any player in Houston's rotation.

Second, the Rockets control Phoenix's draft picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, which the Suns had initially sent to Brooklyn when they traded for Durant. Reacquiring some or all of those picks would bring Phoenix's Durant era full circle and also allow the team to make whatever future moves it desired without worrying about the potential loss of lottery picks.

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.

Phoenix would acquire the young talent and picks it is missing, while Houston would upgrade from Brooks to Durant without sacrificing anyone else from its current core. That seems like a win-win deal.


Dallas Mavericks
Mavericks get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, 2025 first-round pick (via Dallas)

Miami Heat
Heat get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 first-round pick (via Golden State), 2030 first-round pick (via Miami), 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Nets get: Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami)

New York Knicks
Knicks get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson

The verdict: Durant to the Rockets?

Dallas, Miami and New York make compelling cases, but it is hard to turn down the trade proposal Houston has offered. The Rockets' package checked four boxes Phoenix set off to accomplish in trading Durant: draft picks, controllable contracts, players who can help now and financial flexibility.

The trade recouped two firsts lost in the original Durant trade to Brooklyn and puts Phoenix in control of its first in two out of the next three years (Washington has the right to swap firsts in 2026). The other three trade proposals only had Phoenix receiving one first. Prior to the trade, Phoenix had no control of its own first over the next seven years.

The addition of Sheppard and Whitmore gives Phoenix two controllable contracts for the future and an injection of youth into an aging team. The Suns finished the 2024-25 regular season behind only the Clippers as the oldest team in the NBA. Before the trade, last year's draft picks Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro were the only players on the roster who were 23 years old or younger. The Rockets trade is the only proposal that includes two players on first-round rookie scale contracts.

And while OG Anunoby is probably the best "win-now" player included in the trade, the $176 million left on his contract after this season is a hard no. Brooks can give Phoenix the same production at a quarter of what is owed to Anunoby.

The financial component sealed the deal with Houston. By taking back $11 million less than what is owed to Durant and then releasing Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic, the Suns would drop below the second apron in 2025-26, finally allowing the Suns to aggregate contracts and send out cash in a trade. — Marks

 

Best I would do is Brooks and 1 FRP for one year of 36 yo Durant.

Take it or leave it.

 

I haven’t watched much of Ball but I’m concerned he’ll have bad habits from Charlotte. I also respect LaVar’s opinion of LaMelo. Lavar doesn’t think he plays winning basketball. Could Ime and Stone change that?

 

Honestly, that’s already too much.

 

I appreciate you posting the latest JR, but who can take that insane BSPN crap seriously?

 

Gotta match salaries, so it’s take the option on FVV and 1 pick (hopefully 27 or 29) for Durant. Nothing else really makes sense.

 

The purpose of adding Durant would be to win. The Rockets are guard-starved and forward-heavy. I get that you think FVV is the cause of all the Rockets problems despite being great with him, and horrible without, but when trading for Durant, at least use Brooks, your other favorite whipping boy, as the big outgoing salary.

Trading a forward makes more sense than trading a PG.