Despite earlier reports that the Phoenix Suns are working with Kevin Durant‘s camp to find his next home, there appears to be a disconnect between them that has stalled the process.
According to Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the Suns are “still hopeful that Durant might warm to the [Minnesota] Timberwolves possibility” after Durant expressed he will not sign an extension if he’s traded there.
“I’m told Durant has no desire to be in Minnesota with the Timberwolves,” ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported on SportsCenter on June 16.
Durant has one year and $54.7 million left in his current four-year, $190 million contract. He can sign a two-year, $112 million extension wherever he lands next. If he waits six months after the trade, he could fetch more — $124 million over two years, according to Charania.
Earlier, Charania also reported that Durant has three preferred destinations: the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
However, their offers have yet to meet the Suns’ demands.
“The Suns have made it clear to Durant’s camp that they need to prioritize the best return for the team in a deal. What’s more, they appear focused on landing the kind of impact players who can help now as opposed to prioritizing draft picks,” Amick and Krawczynski wrote.
Timberwolves Have What the Suns Want
GettyJulius Randle, Anthony Edwards, and Rudy Gobert during Game 4 of the West Semifinals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors on May 12, 2025.
The Heat, Spurs and Rockets have the draft capital but lack the high-impact players which the Timberwolves have.
“The Wolves would seem to have options available to offer, with Rudy Gobert or Julius Randle headlining a package that could give the Suns hopes of contending,” Amick and Krawczynski wrote.
Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time All-Star and All-NBA center. Randle is a three-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA forward.
The Suns clearly have a need for center as they rotated career backups Nick Richards, Mason Plumlee and last year’s second-round pick Oso Ighodaro at center this past season at center.
With Durant leaking his preferred landing spots, the Suns are having a hard time to get what they want in a trade.
The Timberwolves do not want to make a seismic change to a roster that advanced to the Western Conference finals if Durant is not on board with the move, team sources said. The question now is whether there’s any chance of Durant coming around to the idea,” Amick and Krawczynski wrote.
Rockets, Spurs, Heat Have Underwhelming Offers
According to ESPN’s senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst, no Durant trade is imminent because of the underwhelming offers they have received.
“The three teams on Durant’s list — Miami, San Antonio and Houston — have not made offers that have gotten Phoenix excited to this point,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on June 16.
Windhorst noted that the Timberwolves have been the “most aggressive” Durant suitor.
The Rockets and Spurs have been reluctant to go all-in on a Durant trade because their timeline is different from Durant at this stage in his career. Both the Texas teams have young cores that are still scratching their potentials.
A Durant trade will accelerate their timelines but the 15-time All-Star comes with a massive price on long miles.
Durant, who will turn 37 in September, is looking to win in what could be the final stretch of his future Hall of Fame career.
On the other hand, the Heat are motivated to pursue Durant after losing Jimmy Butler, a previous Suns target, midseason and ended with an embarrassing sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers by an average of 30.5 points per game. They three tradable first-round picks but only have Andrew Wiggins and Terry Rozier as the veterans they could offer to the Suns.
Wiggins has drastically regressed since winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022.
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