Although 15-time All-Star Phoenix Suns power forward Kevin Durant is eyeing a new NBA destination this summer, it's unclear exactly how good the former two-time Finals MVP can be on a true contender.
Durant has undergone several major surgeries, including one for a 2019 Achilles tear, and has logged significant regular season and playoff mileage since being selected with the No. 2 pick out of Texas in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Paul George, NBA Trade, Kevin Durant
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant dunks against Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
In 62 healthy games, the 2014 league MVP averaged 26.6 points on .527/.430/.839 shooting splits, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists for Phoenix this past regular season. With a paltry 36-46 record, the Suns missed the play-in tournament entirely in the Western Conference.
”There are a couple of teams that think maybe Durant could help get them over the hump as a No. 2 option,” an Eastern Conference scout told Hoops Wire's Sam Amico of the ideal Durant fit.
That said, the top clubs looking to add the 6-foot-11 superstar are apparently more concerned with their own bottom lines than any year-end hardware.
“Most teams that want him are teams that just want to sell some jerseys," the scout informed Amico. "At this stage of the game, though, he’s 36, 37 years old, I don’t see a real benefit in giving up much for him. He’s not leading anyone to the promised land anymore."
Durant will turn 37 before the start of 2025-26, which will be his 19th NBA season.
"He really is a good guy and great teammate," the scout noted. "A lot of people don’t realize that. But he always has one eye on the door. The grass is always greener with him."
With this impending apparent Suns exit, Durant is now looking to ditch his fourth straight NBA franchise, after previously dramatic departures from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, and Brooklyn Nets.
The scout cynically explained that, although adding Durant wouldn't necessarily bring a team a championship, it could bring them a massive haul in swag revenue.
"A team could take him as a rental to move merchandise for a year, and that’s not a terrible idea," the scout said. "Just don’t mortgage the future. Anyone from that 35-and-over crowd isn’t worth it these days. Kevin Durant is part of that crowd now.”
To the scout's point, none of the players on the teams that made the NBA's final four this season who've been All-Stars in the last three seasons were older than 31-year-old Pascal Siakam.