Kevin Durant, Suns
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Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant could be traded ahead of the NBA draft.
The Phoenix Suns are trying to satisfy both their demands and Kevin Durant‘s wish as trade talks drag along with more than just a week before the NBA draft on June 25.
With so many factors complicating a deal for the 15-time All-Star, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report believes it will come down to a multi-team trade to make the blockbuster offseason move happen.
Favale proposed a three-team trade that will net the Suns a haul while Durant goes to the San Antonio Spurs, one of his preferred teams according to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania, with the help of a lottery team.
Here is Favale’s trade proposal:
Phoenix Suns Receive: Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Mark Williams, No. 14 pick (from Spurs), San Antonio’s 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick (second-most favorable of Charlotte, Dallas or Miami, via Charlotte)
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Kevin Durant, No. 4 pick (from Charlotte)
Charlotte Hornets Receive: No. 2 pick (from San Antonio), 2026 second-round pick (least favorable of Dallas, Oklahoma City or Philadelphia, via San Antonio), Minnesota’s 2028 second-round pick (via San Antonio)
Suns Get a Haul, Kevin Durant Gets His Wish
Victor Wembanyama, Kevin Durant, Spurs
Getty Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs guards Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns.
The Spurs are one of the three teams — the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets are the other two — on Durant’s short list of preferred destinations.
Teaming up with Victor Wembanyama while going back to the state where he played in college is a no-brainer for Durant at this juncture of his career.
For the Suns, this could be a dream outcome for them. They 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.
“Scooping up a lottery selection to go with a first-rounder in each of the next two drafts is a win unto itself. Phoenix doesn’t control its own first-rounder again until 2032. It needs all the bites at the prospect apple it can get,” Favale wrote.
On top of the picks, the Suns get a center in Williams, whom they can evaluate as he’s a year away from restricted free agency and so is Sochan.
Barnes and Johnson are throw-ins for salary-matching purposes, but they are serviceable veterans who can help the Suns keep afloat in the stacked Western Conference next season. They could also flip them for additional draft assets later on.
According to Favale, the Suns “shaves over $6 million in money before taxes” with this trade that positions them to duck the second apron if they waive Cody Martin and Vasilije Micić.
Why Hornets and Spurs Do It
For the Hornets, moving up for Rutgers star Dylan Harper would recalibrate their timeline to build around him and Brandon Miller and incentivize them to deal LaMelo Ball, who is entering the second year of a five-year max rookie extension deal that is worth up to $260 million.
For the Spurs, it’s a win-now move while addressing the potential awkward fit between Harper, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. They would still retain a top-four pick while retaining Castle and Devin Vassell to complement their potential new Big Three of Durant, Wembanyama and Fox.