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The Phoenix Suns are working to find Kevin Durant a new home, and he recently gave a few destinations that he would prefer to go to. Those teams were the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, and Miami Heat, as all three teams are willing to put together a package to land him. There was also another team that he preferred, and it was the New York Knicks, according to Marc Stein.
“Durant's list of preferred trade destinations contains three teams,” Stein wrote. “Yet it almost had four. The Stein Line has learned that the Knicks also would have featured on that list but were ultimately omitted when New York made it clear that it has decided against pursuing a trade for the NBA's No. 8 all-time leading scorer.”
The Knicks actually have the players to make a potential trade for Durant work, but it seems like they didn't want to mess their core five in order to acquire him. There is a good chance that somebody like Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby would have been a part of the deal, and Karl-Anthony Towns probably would have been mentioned as well.
The Knicks are probably satisfied with what they have going with their starting five of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns, as they got them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Kevin Durant sweepstakes continues
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Though Durant made a list of teams that he would prefer going to, the Suns have made it clear that they aren't promising to send him there.
“They are open to a mutually beneficial trade to the Spurs, Rockets or Heat if they end up liking the return, but it appears that Phoenix is prepared to make the best deal it can after surrendering a staggering haul to acquire Durant from Brooklyn in the first place in February 2023,” Durant said.
Durant is looking to sign an extension with the team he ends up going to, but it seems like it was only going to be for his preferred destination. If he ends up being traded to any other team, it will be interesting to see if he signs an extension with them at some point, or does he just play out his contract.
There may be movement on a trade before the NBA Draft, and it wouldn't be a surprise if something was done sooner rather than later.
