T he Phoenix Suns are facing more challenges in getting their desired return package for Kevin Durant as their preferred trade partner’s star isn’t recruiting the 15-time All-Star to change his mind.
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, Edwards reported on Wednesday, June 18, that Anthony Edwards isn’t pushing for a Durant trade.
“Talked to some people close to Anthony Edwards,” ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said on “NBA Today” on June 18. “This is a non-story. He’s in Atlanta working out. He loves his former teammate. He loves his current teammates. Some people close to me said he’s focused on what’s next with this team. And he’s not flying to L.A. to try to convince K.D. anything different.”
ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported earlier in the week that Durant sent a clear message to the Timberwolves.
“I’m told Durant has no desire to be in Minnesota with the Timberwolves,” Charania said on SportsCenter on June 16.
Getty Will Kevin Durant team up with Anthony Edwards? According to NBA insiders, the Minnesota Timberwolves are the dark horse in the Durant sweepstakes.
Durant is Edwards’ “favorite player of all time,” the Timberwolves star revealed after they swept the Suns in last year’s playoffs.
The Timberwolves’ three-time All-Star and Durant were inseparable when they became teammates in Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yet Edwards’ inaction is a blow to Suns’ effort to get the players they want in return.
Suns ‘Still Hopeful’ Kevin Durant Warms Up to Minnesota
The latest setback on the Suns’ effort to trade Durant outside of his preferred teams came on the heels of a report from Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic that the Suns are “still hopeful that Durant might warm to the Timberwolves possibility.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted that Edwards distancing himself from the Timberwolves’ pursuit of Durant speaks of volumes on the potential outcome of this saga that has dragged on to the weekend of the 2025 NBA Draft, which is the perceived Suns’ deadline to move him.
“That’s legitimately an important piece of information,” Windhorst said on “NBA Today” after Spears reported Edwards’ inaction. “Ant is not recruiting Durant. Durant says he doesn’t want to be in Minnesota. The deal is not done. This is not heading towards Minnesota. Obviously things can change. This is not heading like Durant is going to Minnesota. Spears is making it very clear the way Ant is feeling.”
Rudy Gobert or Julius Randle
The Suns prefer the Timberwolves’ high impact stars over the players that have been made available by the the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, Durant’s preferred destinations.
“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.
Minnesota may lack the draft capital but they have the high-impact players which Phoenix are looking for.
“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 view either player as a major help in their pivot from Durant to re-tool around their franchise cornerstone Devin Booker while getting below the second apron to gain more flexibility.
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