Kevin Durant, Suns
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Two teams are eyeing Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade this summer.
The Phoenix Suns are ramping up trade talks for 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant with two teams emerging as serious bidders, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Saturday, June 14.
“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,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter.
Four more teams are interested in Durant, but not on the same level as the Heat and Timberwolves, who are the most serious bidders.
“San Antonio and Houston — and to a lesser extent both the LA Clippers and Toronto — have also been frequently mentioned by executives throughout the league as teams with varying degrees of interest in trading for Durant. It is widely presumed, furthermore, that landing with the Spurs or Rockets in Texas is highly appealing to the player himself,” Fischer wrote.
Durant is owed $54.7 million next season and is on the final year of his current four-year, $190 million contract. He’s looking for a team that is willing to give him a two-year, $112 million extension similar to what Jimmy Butler received from the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline. On top of that, Durant wants to go to a contending team, not a rebuilding team at this stage of his career.
Whether the Suns grant Durant’s wishes remains to be seen.
Hefty Asking Price for Kevin Durant
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Suns have put a hefty price tag on Durant.
“From what I am told, the Suns are looking for a comparable package for what they traded Kevin Durant, which is impact players and multiple draft assets,” Windhorst said on “NBA Today” on June 11. “I’m not sure they are going to be able to generate that because Durant is a couple of years older and his contract is short.”
Durant, who will turn 37 this September, is still among the elite players in the league. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games in Phoenix this season.
The Suns gave up four first-round picks and a pick swap on top of Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges for Durant at the trade deadline in 2023. Three of those picks are now with the Rockets, who are in a great position to trade for Durant should they want to.
Suns Scouting 1st Round Picks Ahead of Trade
Fischer corroborated Windhorst’s intel on the Suns wanting to get draft capital.
“The Suns 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,” Fischer wrote.
The Timberwolves have the 17th pick (via Detroit) while the Heat have the 20th pick (via Golden State). The Spurs have the Nos. 2 and 14 picks while the Rockets own the Suns’ 10th pick in the draft.