The Kevin Durant sweepstakes are in full swing, as the Phoenix Suns look to find a landing spot for their franchise star of two and a half years. Among the rumored teams interested are the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Houston Rockets, but it remains to be seen whether any of them will reach the Suns' hefty asking price.
Recently, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania stopped by The Pat McAfee Show and gave the latest update on the trade talks.
“The Suns know, if they are going to trade Durant, they clearly have a price threshold they want met. I had one team tell me today it's kinda a game of chicken at this point,” said Charania, per Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report. “From the Houston Rockets to the Miami Heat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it's literally one or two pieces away, either which way, that can get a deal done. … My understanding is they are in talks with those three teams specifically.”
A big decision for the Suns
Featured image Anthony Edwards
It's likely that wherever the Suns end up trading Durant, the return package they get for him will be substantially less than what they gave up to acquire him midway through the 2022-23 NBA season.
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At that time, the Suns gave up a package centered around Mikal Bridges and a slew of draft picks, and ended up with just one playoff series win–against the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers–to show for it.
On paper, the team that many experts think would be the best landing spot for Durant from a basketball perspective is the Minnesota Timberwolves, although that team is reportedly not Durant's preferred destination, as Charania reported.
The Suns will likely try to get a Durant deal done sooner rather than later so that newly signed head coach Jordan Ott has as much time as possible to gameplan around a roster that will almost assuredly look drastically different heading into next season.
Meanwhile, the NBA Draft is slated for June 25.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Jackson Stone is a sports journalist for ClutchPoints with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, and CAA Football. The Mercer University senior from Atlanta is on track to graduate with a BA in communications, and he has bylines at FanSided and USA Today Sports' Georgia athletics website.