Pros and Cons of Favored Teams to Trade for Kevin Durant

PHOENIX — A Kevin Durant trade is likely coming very soon, but there are still a lot of question marks and hurdles to navigate depending on which team he goes to.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week, “the Suns are looking for a comparable package for what they traded Kevin Durant, which is impact players and multiple draft assets.”

Phoenix traded away Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round draft picks (2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029) and a 2028 first-round pick swap to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Durant and T.J. Warren in Feb. 2023.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported Saturday in The Stein Line the Suns are really focused on getting back some draft capital for Durant. Fischer wrote:

“The Suns, sources say, are hoping to acquire a measure of quality draft capital as part of the return for Durant, sources say, and thus have been conducting due diligence on various levels of first-round prospects in the belief they will obtain at least one meaningful selection in the draft taking place 11 days from now. At present Phoenix only holds the 29th and 52nd picks.”

It seems pretty unlikely the Suns could get a comparable package back now for Durant, who still proved to be at the top of his game this season, but will be 37 at the start of next season and only has one year remaining on his contract for $54.7 million.

Durant is eligible to sign a two-year extension after July 6, so that also plays a factor in where he ends up depending on if he wants to sign it with the receiving team.

Phoenix could additionally focus on trying to get under the second tax apron with a Durant deal, which would mean taking back less salary in the trade.

The Suns, Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman have recently been working together to find a trade partner before the June 25 NBA Draft after Phoenix unsuccesssfully tried to trade Durant at the deadline.

With that said, Phoenix could still opt to trade Durant to a non-desired destination.

Ever since teams knew the Suns were looking to move Durant back before the deadline, there have been several suitors that have popped up.

Now, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Suns have reportedly narrowed their focus to three teams, all three of which make sense for the Suns and Durant: the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets.

Charania and several others have reported a deal could be done as soon as the end of this weekend or early next week.

There are still several obstacles to navigate with all three of these teams, and the trades could very well end up being three- or four-team deals because of that.

Here are some notes and how the pros and cons of the three teams stack up for the assets the Suns could get in return from each team without a multi-team deal:

The Timberwolves are the odds-on favorite currently to land Durant and also tried to trade for him at the deadline, but The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reported on X Saturday:

“I know there has been a ton of chatter about the Wolves and KD. I believe, like in February, there is interest. There have been some discussions about deals. But as far as I know, nothing is close. Things can always change quickly, but that’s where I’m at right now.”

The likely framework of a package from the Timberwolves to the Suns would include Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo and Rob Dillingham. The Suns could also want picks No. 17 and No. 31, which Minnesota holds in this year’s draft.

Fischer pointed out a notable tidbit about the Timberwolves if the Suns were to trade with them:

“Trying to nail down a plausible trade framework for the Wolves and Suns on a Durant deal gets tricky when you remember that both teams are still stuck in the second apron for the rest of the month as the NBA’s 2024-25 calendar year draws to a close. Second apron status leads to the same mutual inability these teams have in trade talks to aggregate contracts, which proved to be a considerable roadblock in the teams’ February discussions.

“It appears likely, then, that any trade to send Durant to Minnesota would have to be verbally agreed this month and then executed after the annual leaguewide moratorium on business at the start of July is lifted on July 6. Just as we see with so many draft-night trades.

“Minnesota would fall under the second apron if both Naz Reid and Julius Randle bypass the player options they hold for next season. As we’ve been reporting for some time now, that is certainly the case with Reid, who is expected to decline his $15 million player option for 2025-26 to become a free agent.”

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The Heat, who were another team to inquire about Durant ahead of the deadline, would make for an interesting destination for 15-time All-Star after they were the No. 10 seed in the East this season, but won out in the play-in to make the playoffs and were swept in the first round.

Miami could put together a package for Durant centered around Andrew Wiggins that could include young players, such as Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic and/or Jaime Jacquez Jr., as well as an expiring contract in Duncan Robinson and draft capital.

The Heat hold the least desirable first-round draft pick this year of the three teams at No. 20, but could still offer that and future draft assets.

Fischer wrote of the Miami’s potential trade package:

“Miami’s ultimate willingness to surrender Kel’el Ware, given the Suns’ noted hole at center, could be the true swing factor in the Heat’s Durant pursuit. In February it was clear: Sources say Miami was unwilling at the trade deadline to part with either of its recent first-round draft successes: Ware or Jaime Jacquez Jr. Could that change now after Miami fell so flat in the playoffs with its post-Butler roster?”

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The Rockets have always made the most sense for any big trade involving the Suns ever since they acquired the Suns’ first-rounders in 2025 and 2027, as well as swap rights in 2029, from the Nets in a trade last summer.

However, Houston’s front office has seemingly made it clear that it is not really that interested in acquiring a player as old as Durant for a hefty price, even though Durant has a great relationship with head coach Ime Udoka and assistant Royal Ivey.

The Rockets are loaded with young talent and finished as the No. 2 seed in the West this season, but their lack of a true No. 1 option in the playoffs, which Durant would provide, shined through and they were eliminated in the first round by the Golden State Warriors.

Fischer reported, “things are obviously fluid at this stage, but the two teams most frequently cited as potential landing spots for Durant entering Saturday’s business, league sources say, were Minnesota and Miami,” not Houston.

He added later of Houston:

“Trading Durant to Houston is a theoretical means for the Suns to get some of (their) draft capital back. The Rockets know this and, as such, are believed to be willing to go only so far in a Durant deal. The presumption, then, is that Phoenix can probably find a more appealing return elsewhere.”

A hypothetical offer from the Rockets would be the No. 10 pick (originally the Suns), the 2027 first-rounder, Dillon Brooks and a combination of young players (Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore or Reed Sheppard) and expiring contracts.

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