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The Phoenix Suns appear to be heading toward a roster overhaul this offseason, which likely includes buying out Bradley Beal, as well as trading Kevin Durant.
Beal has almost certainly played his final game with the Suns, but the situation for Durant, who was owner Mat Ishbia's first major acquisition after buying the team in 2023, is a bit different. While Beal is likely untradable due to his deal and lackluster play, Durant is a popular albeit aging superstar.
Still, when the Suns reportedly shopped Durant at the trade deadline this season, they came up empty on a deal they felt was sufficient. In addition to many teams being unable to fit Durant's $51 million salary, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Phoenix had a big haul in mind for Durant.
“If a team is going to pay a premium to acquire Durant — and at midseason the Suns were indeed looking for a premium, sources said, specifically packages that include current or former All-Stars, young players and/or first-round picks — then making sure he wouldn't simply be around for one season will be a priority,” Windhorst wrote.
“Durant is eligible to add two years and up to $124 million to his contract, his three-year max being just short of $180 million. He will turn 37 before next season.”
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At age 36, Durant averaged 26.6 points per game this past season while shooting 52.7% from the field and 43.0% on three-pointers. However, his individual play was not nearly good enough to carry the Suns into the playoffs, or even the Play-In, as the Suns finished the season in 11th place in the Western Conference at 36-46, three games behind the Dallas Mavericks, the final Play-In team.
During the season, Durant was notably a subject of trade rumors, the most legitimate of which pointed toward Durant returning to the Golden State Warriors. In his three years with Golden State, he won two NBA championships and two Finals MVPs before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the Finals. He left the Warriors in the subsequent offseason for the Brooklyn Nets.
While the Suns and Warriors could have theoretically gone ahead with the deal regardless, Durant effectively nixed the trade because he said he did not want to be traded midseason. In the end, the Suns watched as the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler, for whom Phoenix had desperately tried to trade Beal.
The next franchise Durant plays for will be the fifth of his career; after spending the nine seasons of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle SuperSonics as a rookie), Durant signed with the Warriors before making his way to Brooklyn, and following the dissolution of the Nets' superstar trio, was traded to the Suns.
