The whole NBA knows that the Phoenix Suns are taking trade calls on Kevin Durant, and with the exception of Sunday’s trade of Desmond Bane between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic, the rest of the market is in limbo until this first domino falls. But that domino is reportedly being held up by the Suns themselves.
In his latest report on the Durant rumors, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports that the Suns are placing “too high” of a value on Durant, trying to pitch his various suitors against each other for the most valuable trade package. Although they are the ones with the coveted player, Rankin reports that the Suns do not have all that much leverage, and may have to lower their asking price accordingly.
[A]t age 36, [Durant] isnât viewed as the same player who won finals MVP in back-to-back years with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.
The 15-time All-Star turns 37 in September.
The Suns have âno leverageâ in part because of Durant’s age and because he wants to start fresh elsewhere, league sources say. The idea of Durant returning to a team that entertained deals for him before the 2025 trade deadline isnât a pleasant one.
Durant Not The Younger Man That He Was
As previously reported, a Durant deal is expected in the next few days, and Rankin reinforces that by noting how the Suns want the deal to be done soon, so as to have any incoming draft picks in place before next week’s draft. The rumor mill attaches the names of the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets among the leading names for his services, and given that there is only one Durant compared to at least four bidding teams, it would follow logically that the Suns could pit the bidders against each other and drive up the price.
As Rankin notes, though, Durant’s age and mileage counts against him. He is simply not the market-moving trade piece that Phoenix gave up so much to acquire from the Brooklyn Nets a mere two and a half years ago.
This not because of any noticeable decline on Durant’s part. Even though his 2019 Achilles injury and the passage of time have robbed him of a step, his elite skill-set has adapted, and he remains one of the best players in the game, ranking sixth in the league in scoring this past season with a 26.6 points per game average.
Rather, he just got older. Next season will be his 19th in the NBA, a mark that very few ever reach, and he turns 37 in September. The trade value of any player is inevitably going to be capped so late in their career, and no amount of suitors will counteract all of that.
Still Multiple Suitors To Juggle
On the plus side, the Suns do have the league’s eternal sense of urgency to play with.
Among the names said to be in contention for Durant are the Heat and the Timberwolves. Having already forgone almost all of their trade assets to build their current competitive team, the Timberwolves are all in on the early stages of Anthony Edwards’s career; having tried to keep the ball in the air for the entirety of the Pat Riley era, the Heat are always named in the running for any and every available star. Neither is replete with assets, but both will do what they can. The urgency of their timelines is real.
The Suns know about the pressures of win-now urgency because they succumbed to them themselves. They acquired Durant – and then acquiesced to his overt pleas to further acquire Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards in a highly unsuccessful move that imploded their plans for competitiveness – because they wanted to win as soon as possible. Perhaps, in light of the tumultuous era of Robert Sarver’s ownership, they may even have felt they needed to.
Now, however, they need to get what they can to begin afresh. But as inevitable as a Kevin Durant trade appears, the Suns are dealing with suitors without premium assets, no matter how strong their desires are – and the team that has the best trade assets, the Spurs, are not willing to overspend. Someone will cave, and the circumstances strongly suggest it will be the Suns.
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