Kevin Durant has yet to be traded to from the Phoenix Suns, and yet, the biggest winner of this entire saga is already abundantly, inarguably clear. It's the San Antonio Spurs.
Please do not interpret this as a concrete prediction that Durant will end up donning silver and black next season. He could. He might. But the Spurs won’t be mortgaging the farm to make it happen, like the Orlando Magic did with Desmond Bane, and like the New York Knicks did for Mikal Bridges last summer, and like the Phoenix Suns did in 2023 for KD himself.
San Antonio continues to make that much clear as the rumor mill keeps churning. It remains tangentially linked to the two-time Finals MVP, but with him turning 37 in September, even “What about the Victor Wembanyama timeline?!” agnostics can admit this isn’t the right player for whom to go all-in.
Still, this level-headed approach to negotiations is not what renders the Spurs undeniable winners. It’s the fact that Durant has listed them as a preferred landing spot at all, proving yet again that Wembanyama has and will continue to attract superstar talent to San Antonio for the foreseeable future.
Kevin Durant isn't the first star to be hot for Wembanyama—and won't be the last
If Durant's interest in playing for the Spurs and alongside Wembanyama sounds familiar, that's because it's intimately familiar. De'Aaron Fox is in San Antonio because he had the exact same preference. Heck, his desire was even stronger than KD's appears to be now.
"There was no f***ing list," Fox told ESPN's Michael Wright this past March. "There was one team. I wanted to go to San Antonio."
Get used to hearing comments and anecdotes similar, if not exactly like, this one. Wembanyama has transformed the Spurs into the mother of all superstar draws. And that is not hyperbole. It is a sheer nod to his talent and impact.
Wemby is unlike any player the NBA has ever seen, and at 21, already an All-Star. If not for a blood clot in his right shoulder prematurely ending his 2024-25 season, he'd already be an All-NBAer, and Defensive Player of the Year, too.
Who wouldn't want to play alongside that player? Wemby is a ticket to eventual perennial title contention—the pinnacle of sustained NBA relevance. Durant isn't eyeing the Spurs (solely) because he's a pure-hooping rocket scientist. He is drawing his name alongside theirs in silver and black hearts because, much like the rest of us, he has eyes and common sense.
The Spurs can set their sights bigger than Kevin Durant
ESPN's Shams Charania recently hinted that the Spurs may be saving their assets for a star younger and bigger than Durant (h/t RealGM). This would qualify as foolish logic by other teams. For San Antonio, it's just good business.
Stars are already salivating at the idea of playing alongside Wembanyama just two seasons into his career. Think about who might—who definitely will—want to join him in the next year, or two, or maybe even three.
Will Anthony Edwards start falling in love with San Antonio after the Minnesota Timberwolves (potentially) short-circuit their future by acquiring a soon-to-be 37-year-old Durant? Could Nikola Jokic start lusting after the Spurs if the Denver Nuggets continue to ignore the obvious?
Is Luka Doncic actually going to sign an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, or will he leave the idea of hitting the open market next year (player option) on the table? Could Cooper Flagg suddenly, egregiously, and aggressively attempt to steer his way past the Dallas Mavericks at No. 1, and into the Spurs' arms at No. 2?
No scenario seems too farfetched anymore. Wembanyama has that kind of pull. So while it would be an immediate boon if San Antonio lands Kevin Durant, these Spurs don't have to get him or anyone else this offseason. Their involvement at all is proof that Wemby has put them on the map, in a way they've never been before—and that another superstar drooling over them is just around the corner.