PHOENIX -- Trade rumors surrounding Kevin Durant and his ultimate future with the Phoenix Suns will only grow louder the deeper we get in the offseason.
Durant has just one year left on his contract and all signs point to the future Hall of Fame player exiting the desert before the 2025-26 season begins.
Phoenix will be fielding calls from numerous teams to find the best trade possible, though The Ringer's Zach Lowe proposed a deal with the Sacramento Kings that involves Durant heading further West while the Suns snag Domantas Sabonis.
"Who says no, Kevin Durant for Domantas Sabonis?" Lowe offered previously on his podcast.
"Durant would threaten to retire, but I could see the Suns fans being like, 'Well, that sucks. We traded 19 million first-round picks, Bridges, and Johnson for Durant.' Cool, you're not getting that back. You have no center of any consequence. You hated every center you had on the team."
The Suns dealt previous centers in Deandre Ayton and Jusuf Nurkic after both didn't satisfy their coaching staffs for various reasons. Even after acquring Nick Richards near the NBA trade deadline, Phoenix reportedly is looking to upgrade their center position.
Fellow NBA talking head John Hollinger said a three-team trade involving the swap of Durant/Sabonis wouldn't be too far-fetched.
"I'll tell you what's not crazy is a three-way trade, where Sabonis ends up in Phoenix, Durant ends up some place else, and Sacramento gets stuff," Hollinger said (h/t Kings on SI).
Sacramento certainly is a curveball in the race for Durant, who has expected suitors in the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets among others.
The more the merrier for Phoenix, who would certainly welcome a bidding war for Durant to maximize his trade value.
NBA insider Brian Windhorst says there's a 98% chance Durant isn't with the Suns next season:
"Kevin Durant, I'm like 98% sure he's not gonna be a Sun next year, how it works out [Durant staying in Phoenix] though I'm about 1% sure. There's gonna be a number of teams interested, but some of it is gonna depend on whether they see Durant as a player they keep on a one-year contract or if they want to get him and give him an extension, which I suspect he's going to want."
Sabonis would certainly bring a different change of pace for the Suns' frontcourt - though Phoenix won't be making any moves until their head coach search is finalized.