Suns News: Week 20 (3/3 - 3/9)

[BigLewy]

ESPN Insider article about Durant's future with 4 proposed deals. The Heat and Knicks deals are gross. I might be ok with the Dallas and Houston ones I suppose.

Latest on Durant in Phoenix

Durant is set to enter the last year of a four-year, $198 million extension he signed in Brooklyn. And while he does not have a no-trade clause like Suns teammate Bradley Beal does, Durant holds leverage on where his next home will be.

"I want my career to end on my terms, that's the only thing," Durant said on "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis" last month. "That's the only thing I'm worried about. 'Cause I see a lot of dudes that don't get that opportunity, so I want to keep putting in that work to make that choice on my own."

As Charania reported recently, Phoenix and Durant will work together if there is a decision to move the All-Star after the season. Two factors will play a role if a trade materializes. The first: Is Durant willing to sign a two-year, $122 million extension with the team trading for him? Because Durant can be a free agent in 2026, it is unlikely a team trades draft capital and players for a one-year rental.

The second, and most important: Is the team that trades for Durant still in position to compete for a championship? At age 36, his next team will likely be his last opportunity to add a third ring.



Four hypothetical trade offers for KD
Dallas Mavericks

Herring's trade offer:

Mavericks get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, 2025 first-round pick (via Dallas)

Why it makes sense for both sides

In dealing then-25-year-old Luka Doncic for 31-year-old Anthony Davis, the Mavericks have made no secret that they view their window to contend for a title as the next few years. With that in mind, they would seemingly be of the mind of continuing to push the chips in, even with Kyrie Irving's torn ACL likely affecting their chances next season.

Getting Durant, one of Irving's closest friends and his former Brooklyn teammate, would be a clear way to ensure the team's perimeter scoring and ballhandling stay afloat while Irving rehabs. And it would also give Davis another future Hall of Famer to take pressure off his shoulders night to night. The move would also give Durant a chance to potentially finish his career in the state where he became a one-and-done superstar for the Texas Longhorns.

In this deal, the Suns immediately deepen their rotation, getting not only historic sharpshooter Thompson, but also key win-now players in Washington and Marshall. Most importantly, they would get Lively, who enjoyed a fantastic rookie season on both ends of the floor with Dallas en route to the Mavs reaching the NBA Finals last year. The haul, and the draft pick in a deep selection pool, should be enough to convince franchise player Devin Booker that Phoenix has enough to be competitive.

On the other side, Dallas, like the current Suns roster, would undoubtedly be a thin, top-heavy group as a result of this move -- one with a trio of stars who would ultimately need a decent stretch of good health to give the club a chance at glory. It may seem like a heavy investment and risk for the Mavs. Frankly, it is one. But after dealing away Doncic, isn't that exactly what Mavs general manager Nico Harrison and the club have signed up for at this point?

Houston Rockets

Kram's trade offer:

Rockets get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Phoenix; the 2025 first is conveyed after the May draft lottery)

Why it makes sense for both sides

The Rockets are a natural trade partner for the Suns for two main reasons. First, Durant slots neatly into Houston's largest hole. Thanks to a shiny young core and ferocious defense, the Rockets are rising in the West. But they lack the go-to scorer required to lead a contender and rank just 25th in half-court offense this season, per Cleaning the Glass.

Even at 36, Durant would represent a major improvement in this area. He has a higher usage rate and much better true shooting percentage than any player in Houston's rotation.
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Second, the Rockets control Phoenix's draft picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, which the Suns had initially sent to Brooklyn when they traded for Durant. Reacquiring some or all of those picks would bring Phoenix's Durant era full circle and also allow the team to make whatever future moves it desired without worrying about the potential loss of lottery picks.

In the meantime, this return could also help Phoenix put together a competitive roster around Devin Booker and avoid a full rebuild. Brooks is a useful 3-and-D wing on a declining contract who could plug one hole in the Suns' porous perimeter defense. Sheppard hasn't found his footing in his rookie season in Houston, but the No. 3 pick offers more upside than any player on Phoenix's roster. So too does Whitmore, an occasionally electric scorer (career 22 points per 36 minutes) who hasn't checked enough other boxes to earn more of coach Ime Udoka's trust.

Phoenix would acquire the young talent and picks it is missing, while Houston would upgrade from Brooks to Durant without sacrificing anyone else from its current core. That seems like a win-win deal.

Miami Heat

Pelton's trade offer:

Heat get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 first-round pick (via Golden State), 2030 first-round pick (via Miami), 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Nets get: Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami)

Why it makes sense for both sides

If the other offers here actually come in for Durant, the Heat don't realistically stand a chance. Miami doesn't have premium draft picks or young prospects to offer and must send out more salary than Durant's $53.3 million for 2025-26 to avoid a hard cap at the lower luxury tax apron, necessitating sending some of the pick value to the Nets to take Robinson's $19.9 million salary into cap space. (Some $10 million of Robinson's 2025-26 contract is non-guaranteed, but the Heat would have to guarantee it in order to count fully as outgoing salary in trade.)

Instead, Miami has to hope that Dallas decides not to sacrifice massive amounts of depth for a Durant pursuit and Houston prefers to wait for a younger star player (say, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Booker) who better fits the team's timetable.

In that scenario, the Heat can check multiple boxes for the Suns. This trade cuts about $20 million from Phoenix's 2025-26 payroll, which the Suns could either reinvest in a center or simply take as enormous luxury tax savings. Getting Wiggins, who has bounced back this season as an above-average starter, and Jovic improves Phoenix's forward depth. And the Suns end up with both the first-round pick the Warriors sent Miami in the Jimmy Butler trade and a valuable unprotected draft pick in 2030 to replenish the team's coffers.

New York Knicks

Snellings' trade offer:

Knicks get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson


Why it makes sense for both sides

In this deal, the Knicks get Durant after missing out to their crosstown rivals six years ago. The Knicks' offense is strong but requires consistent heavy lifting from Jalen Brunson to create for the other finishers in the lineup. Well, Durant is one of the greatest finishers in NBA history and would pair with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns to give the Knicks one of the most efficient and productive offensive cores in the NBA. Their skill sets mesh well and could be enough to help the Knicks take that next leap to join the Celtics and Cavaliers in true contention to win the Eastern Conference. They would need to add more depth and size in the offseason, but their offensive foundation and upside would be tremendous.

In Anunoby, the Suns get a 27-year old impact forward on a similar career timeline with 28-year old franchise player Booker. Anunoby is an elite wing defender, named second-team All-Defense in 2023 and with Booker would form a wing tandem that is excellent at both ends of the floor. The Suns also still need more size and muscle in the middle, and the 26-year old Robinson would give them another young veteran entering his peak seasons capable of contributing to the main rotation of a winning squad. Robinson has had health issues, but when on the court, he is one of the better defensive and rebounding bigs in the league.

The verdict: Durant to the Rockets?

Dallas, Miami and New York make compelling cases, but it is hard to turn down the trade proposal Houston has offered. The Rockets' package checked four boxes Phoenix set off to accomplish in trading Durant: draft picks, controllable contracts, players who can help now and financial flexibility.

The trade recouped two firsts lost in the original Durant trade to Brooklyn and puts Phoenix in control of its first in two out of the next three years (Washington has the right to swap firsts in 2026). The other three trade proposals only had Phoenix receiving one first. Prior to the trade, Phoenix had no control of its own first over the next seven years.

The addition of Sheppard and Whitmore gives Phoenix two controllable contracts for the future and an injection of youth into an aging team. The Suns finished the 2024-25 regular season behind only the Clippers as the oldest team in the NBA. Before the trade, last year's draft picks Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro were the only players on the roster who were 23 years old or younger. The Rockets trade is the only proposal that includes two players on first-round rookie scale contracts.

And while OG Anunoby is probably the best "win-now" player included in the trade, the $176 million left on his contract after this season is a hard no. Brooks can give Phoenix the same production at a quarter of what is owed to Anunoby.

The financial component sealed the deal with Houston. By taking back $11 million less than what is owed to Durant and then releasing Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic, the Suns would drop below the second apron in 2025-26, finally allowing the Suns to aggregate contracts and send out cash in a trade.

-- Marks

[TOO]

Gillespie plays both ends, can shoot off the ball, makes the right passes, of course he should start, or at least see what you've got. They'll still force sorry ass Jones or Beal though.

[Wally_West]

I would start both CG and Dunn but that's just me.

Starting five:
Gillespie
Booker
Dunn
KD
Richards

Yes. I’m also cool with Bol instead of Dunn too but I’d prefer Dunn.

To be honest, I’d waive or buyout the Euro guy we got in the Nurk deal right now and sign the Gilly to the 2 year deal minimum deal, which I think is most we can do but it’ll help us get his bird rights after next year. Lock him up before goes full Jeremy Lin and goes and gets paid in the offseason.

[Cap]

I would start both CG and Dunn but that's just me.

Starting five:
Gillespie
Booker
Dunn
KD
Richards

Yes. I’m also cool with Bol instead of Dunn too but I’d prefer Dunn.

Load manage KD and start both.

[Wally_West]

Dude gonna get 5mins in the next game

[TOO]

Bud hates winning.

[ShelC]

Yea why try and win games. Let's stick with what hasn't worked for 2/3 of the season.

[Superbone]

For Bud to laugh that off...again, it makes me ask the question, he dumb?

[Mori Chu]

To be fair to Bud, one game where an end-of-the-bench PG scores 10 points does not usually cause you to immediately bench your starting point guard.

[TOO]

To be fair to Bud, one game where an end-of-the-bench PG scores 10 points does not usually cause you to immediately bench your starting point guard.

Gillespie has shown in previous seasons and even in his short stints here he can play. Tyus has been a bust and Beal is always hurt, to not try Morris or Gillespie at this point is just stupid.

[Superbone]

It just shows that Bud is slow to make adjustments.

[Cap]

It just shows that Bud is slow to make adjustments.

“Certainly probably gonna try” is three adjustments in four words. That not quick enough for you?

[ShelC]

I get it's a tough position to be in with a veteran team whose season is hanging by a thread. I think we'd like to imagine CG and Dunn starting and giving the team a spark, playing hard and giving the starting lineup the balance it needs. We'd probably much rather see that than keep going the way we've been going with Tyus, Beal and Royce. But it's not realistic unless Bud just said "fk it let's go with the guys playing hard who give us the best chance to win." It's also one thing to bench Beal/Tyus and mixing other vets into the lineup, it's another to cut into their minutes with GLeaguers/rookies.

[Split T]

You gotta find a way to build Dunn’s confidence back. I’m not sure throwing him right back into the starting lineup is the answer, but maybe. At least give him a consistent role. Let him know he’s going to play an 8 minute stretch each half regardless of his shot going in or not. Take the pressure off and then follow through with the playing time.

I don’t think the constant changing of the lineup is helpful. I’d pick a starting group and stick with it. For me I think I’d choose the more reliable players(play and health). Give me

Booker/Grayson/Royce/KD/Richards then
Gillespie/Beal/Dunn/Bol/Plumlee

When Beal is hurt, Tyus can play.

[Cap]

LOL. Tyus and Monte were supposed to be our big off-season acquisitions. “Out of rotation on 11th seed” =

[bajanguy008]

I don't expect him to start but should get minutes and if he is providing a spark you just play him more in the 2nd half again

[Superbone]

It just shows that Bud is slow to make adjustments.

“Certainly probably gonna try” is three adjustments in four words. That not quick enough for you?

Eh...na...not really.

[specialsauce]

I have been calling for CG to take over PG duties for almost two months since I saw him kick ass live at a G league game. Dude has the right approach and competitive spirit.

How Bud doesn't see it is beyond me

Even Mori's mom was in awe when we went to the game

[ShelC]

This is why it's tough to put much stock in GLeague games. Some guys are too good for the Gleague but not good enough or not ready for minutes in the NBA.

[Cap]

Even Mori's mom was in awe when we went to the game

God damn it, how many times do we have to tell you, stop flashing your privates at games!