The Minnesota Timberwolves have one strong competition left in their bid to land Phoenix Suns‘ 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Saturday, June 14.
“Things are obviously fluid at this stage, but the two teams most frequently cited as potential landing spots for Durant entering Saturday’s business, league sources say, were Minnesota and Miami,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter.
Four more teams are interested in Durant, but not on the same level as the Timberwolves and the Heat, who have the biggest chance to land the 36-year-old superstar.
“San Antonio and Houston — and to a lesser extent both the LA Clippers and Toronto — have also been frequently mentioned by executives throughout the league as teams with varying degrees of interest in trading for Durant. It is widely presumed, furthermore, that landing with the Spurs or Rockets in Texas is highly appealing to the player himself,” Fischer wrote.
Durant is owed $54.7 million next season and is on the final year of his current four-year, $190 million contract. He’s looking for a team that is willing to give him a two-year, $112 million extension similar to what former Heat star Jimmy Butler received from the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline. On top of that, Durant wants to go to a contending team, not a rebuilding team at this stage of his career.
Kevin Durant Trade Hurdles
The Timberwolves fit the bill as they have been to the Western Conference Finals in the last two years. A Durant trade is the move they hope would get them over the hump.
The Timberwolves seriously pursued Durant at the trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, but with both teams being on the second apron, there could not aggregate salaries.
But after the NBA calendar flips in July and as the salary cap resets, the Timberwolves have a better shot at executing the complex Durant trade.
“It became clear to me, talking to the parties involved, how serious the Wolves were in trading for Kevin Durant at the trade deadline,” Windhorst said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast on May 30. “They made some sort of progress [on a Durant trade]. Getting it done was impossible — they’re two second-apron teams — but after [Julius Randle and Naz Reid opt out this off-season] the Wolves will not be a second-apron team.”
Randle opting in to his $30.9 million player option gives the Timberwolves a big salary ballast. But the Suns are looking for a center and it might take Rudy Gobert, who is due for $35 million next season in the first year of his three-year, $110 million to get a deal done.
Minnesota’s Dream Pair
Pairing Anthony Edwards with his favorite player, Durant, is the Timberwolves’ dream since the trade deadline. They view Durant as a mentor and a co-star for their 23-year-old franchise star.
Durant has been the Finals MVP during his two championship runs with the Warriors. Turning 37 this September, Durant is aging gracefully. In what could be his final year in Phoenix, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games while shooting a highly efficient 52.7% from the field, including 43% from the 3-point line.
The Timberwolves, however, are at a disadvantage against the Heat in terms of draft capital. They only have this year’s 17th pick while the Heat have three tradable first-round picks (2030, 2032 and this year’s 20th first-round pick via Warriors from the Butler trade).
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