Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns goes up against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 03: Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns drives against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of the Emirates NBA Cup game at Footprint Center on December 03, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Spurs 104-93. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The San Antonio Spurs recently won the second overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, and reportedly have already made up their mind on who they will select. That player will be paired with 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year Award winner Stephon Castle and 2023 #1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama to create quite the excellent young core in San Antonio, particularly when others such as Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan are included.
This, though, seemingly was not enough to deter them from enquiring after one of the league’s oldest. Again.
Yesterday, Shams Charania of ESPN spoke on the Pat McAfee Show and reported that at the most recent trade deadline, the Spurs expressed interest in potentially trading for future Hall-of-Famer, Kevin Durant. And apparently, their enquiries met with similar interest going the other way.
Being Young Does Not Mean Forgoing The Old
Durant is currently a member of the Phoenix Suns, but all signs indicate that this will not be the case for much longer. After a miserable season that culminated in a lottery appearance and a front office housecleaning, the Suns need to blow it up – whatever “it” is during a 36-win season – and begin again. Moving Durant is the best way to achieve that, and it is assumed that he has played his last game in a Suns jersey.
To that end, Durant is certainly available. And it also follows that his age is not a barrier to the Spurs. After all, last season, they targeted and acquired the third-oldest player in the league, Chris Paul.
Paul was brought in to provide veteran nous and solid unselfish two-way play at the point guard sport for the young Spurs roster to develop their young talents around. He did exactly that, averaging 8.8 points and 7.4 assists in 28.0 minutes per game against only 1.6 turnovers a game, with his win shares total of 5.7 ranking as high as 53rd in the league – above even Durant.
The reason for acquiring Durant would be much the same. Despite nearing his 40th birthday and the end of his career, Durant is still an excellent player by any measure. His low-maintenance, high-performance game, non-ball-dominant skillset and limitless experience will all cohere well in a development environment, while also making the team much better in the short term.
Spurs May Have Taken Themselves Out Of The Running
Even before the draft lottery, and certainly afterwards, the Spurs have also had their names attached to another of the game’s veteran superstars. If Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is indeed made available in trade, the Spurs are often named as a potential suitor.
Of note, though, is the fact that the Spurs did make another needle-moving trade at the deadline. They acquired De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings instead of Durant, and while this does not prevent a potential Durant acquisition in terms of on-court fit or salary expenditure, it did utilise a portion of their expendable future assets (Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Sidy Cissoko, two first-round picks and three second-round picks).
In the wake of Gregg Popovich’s retirement and yet another season in the lottery, this is a transitional period in San Antonio. They may however decide that, with Victor and company, they have enough, and wish to take a Houston Rockets-like step forward back into competitiveness. Charania’s use of the past tense implies that the mutual interest between the Spurs and Durant may have cooled. However, with the NBA as a whole also said by Charania anticipating the “craziest offseason ever”, all options remain on the table. Even this one.