There were high hopes for the Phoenix Suns entering the 2023-24 NBA season. After all, they formed a scary new Big Three  in the NBA when they acquired star shooting guard Bradley Beal last summer via a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards. Beal joining the duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker was supposed to make Phoenix an even bigger threat to the rest of the league.

But the Suns' dreams of bringing an NBA title this season to The Valley went up in flames in just the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, as they succumbed at the hands of Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in just four games. What went wrong? For the T'wolves to win that easily and shut out such a talented squad like the Suns in the Western Conference quarterfinals round, there had to be a lot of things that did not go as planned for Phoenix.

It appears that one of the causes of the Suns' downfall was the unhappiness of Durant within the offensive ecosystem of the team, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“Meanwhile, Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside Booker and Beal this season.”

It may not show in the basic stats that the former league Most Valuable Player put up in the 2023-24 NBA season, but some close to Phoenix believed Durant felt he was not used optimally in Phoenix. During the regular season, the former No. 2 NBA Draft overall pick averaged 27.1 points on 52.3 percent shooting from the field, 41.3 percent shooting from behind the arc, and 85.6 percent success rate from the free throw line across 75 games.

“Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls. At the same time, some teammates and people close to the organization believed Durant needed to voice his concerns more adamantly and directly with Vogel and his coaching staff.”

Durant was still productive and efficient at the same time on offense during the first-round clash with the Timberwolves, as he averaged 26.8 points on 55.2 percent shooting from the floor and 41.7 percent from deep, but the Suns clearly struggled offensively as a team.

This isn't the first time that rumors of Durant's frustration with the Suns came into the picture. He even refuted rumors of his supposed disappointment over Beal's injury and underwhelming support back in January. But with the Suns getting shown the door out of title contention so early in the postseason, it's convenient for such rumors involving the biggest player on the team's roster to manifest once again.

There are no games or series featuring the Suns to talk about anymore. The attention now shifts to what lies ahead of Durant and the Suns, who might have to make some big decisions in the offseason given the way things ended for the franchise.

Durant, who arrived in Phoenix in 2023 via a four-team trade involving the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks, has two more years left on his current contract that will get him $49.86 million in the 2024-25 campaign and $53.23 in the 2025-26 season.