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Kevin Durant has never been interested in playing for the Washington Wizards, his hometown team. However, Carmelo Anthony thinks it's a good idea.
The New York Knicks legend explained why on his “7PM In Brooklyn” podcast, presented by Wave Sports and Entertainment.
Melo wants KD to return home to end his career with the Wizards 😳
“Go to the Wizards, bring the energy back to DC … give KD his farewell tour after a couple years.” pic.twitter.com/LSVzlKgLzY
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) February 27, 2025
“I would like to see him with the Wizards. That's just me personally…That would be dope,” Anthony said. “End it back home, you ain't gon' go chase, you ain't gon' go with these other teams that's out there. You already got your rings. Go to the Wizards, bring the energy back to DC. You home…Go back home, your family, mom, friends there. Go rekindle that fire back out there in DC.”
Durant was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, on the outskirts of the city. The future Hall of Famer said in 2020 that while the area molded him into the man he is today, he never thought about playing for the Wizards, via The Washington Post's Ben Golliver.
“I never thought about playing at home,” he said. “I heard so many people wanted me to come back [in 2016 free agency]. I just felt like I did everything I wanted to do back at home. It’s nothing against the Wizards. At that time, my life was calling me somewhere else. I represent PG every time I step on the floor. Everybody who knows me knows that. My game oozes PG County. I learned everything from this place.”
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From a competitive standpoint, it's hard to argue with Durant's logic in 2016. The former MVP could have joined forces with John Wall and Bradley Beal back home, but it's hard to spurn a prime Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State. Of course, he won two Finals MVPs on the Warriors and could've won a third if he didn't tear his Achilles in the 2019 Finals.
History then repeated itself, as Durant teamed up with Kyrie Irving, and later James Harden, on the Brooklyn Nets after declining his player option with Golden State. By this point, the Scott Brooks-coached Wizards were out of playoff contention, so going to them wouldn't have made sense.
The Nets' big three eventually fizzled out due to injuries and Irving missing time due to not taking the COVID vaccine, so they traded Durant to the Phoenix Suns in 2023, where he's now playing with Devin Booker and Beal. That trio will soon separate as well, as they haven't gotten past the Western Conference Semifinals and are 27-31 this season.
Durant still has one more year left on his contract, though, so the Suns must trade him. They already tried to deal him to the Warriors at the deadline before he nixed it, and it's a lock that they'll ship him out this offseason, via ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
"They're gonna trade [KD], and he knows that." 😳 @WindhorstESPN and @KendrickPerkins on what will happen with Kevin Durant and the Suns this offseason. pic.twitter.com/B985Mq41Hv
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 26, 2025
“They're gonna trade [Durant], and he knows that…There's been a couple opportunities where he could've criticized them for trying to trade him, he has not done that,” Windhorst said. “He has been very professional about this, and I expect that to continue throughout the rest of the regular season, he's gonna try to win every game he's out there. And then in the offseason, he sort've gave himself a little ad there. He said ‘whatever team gets me, you know I'm gonna make a difference, I'm still in my prime.'”
Durant would certainly make a difference in Washington. After years of the previous regime delaying the inevitable, the Wizards' new front office stepped in and blew the team up in '23, partially by sending Beal to Phoenix. Now, they finally have a direction, which is building through the draft.
Trading for Durant would be a detour from that, but it's not often that a franchise can trade for the best player its local area has ever produced to close out his career. The 15-time All-Star is still averaging 26.9 points on 53-percent shooting (40.2-percent 3 PT) with six rebounds and 4.3 assists, so he might prefer to ring-chase with better teams.
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Let's just say, though, that Durant gets homesick this summer. What would it take to get him to the nation's capital?
Wizards-Suns trade scenario
Anthony thinks that the Wizards should sell the farm, including their 2025 lottery pick.
“Man h*ll yeah, trade all that sh**. Man, we bringing KD home,” the former scoring champion said. “It ain't like we gonna be nice over the next three years. Let KD bring the energy back, flood the arena, sell the tickets. Bring the smoke back into the arena, give KD his farewell tour after a couple years. Now Alex Sarr, take it from there, him and the young guys. KD to the Wizards, man.”
While Anthony's admiration for Durant is understandable, it wouldn't make sense for Washington to sell all of its valuable assets. The 11-time All-NBA honoree is 36, and the Wizards are still miles away from contending.
With that being said, Washington has 28 draft picks through 2031 that it could package with ascending veterans like Jordan Poole and Corey Kispert. Ideally, it would form a trio of Durant, Poole, and Cooper Flagg/Dylan Harper, but Durant won't be cheap.
The key is to not sell the entire future, which is Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, and AJ Johnson. Giving up one or two of those players is reasonable, but it would be too risky to abandon the whole group. The idea is to not have to restart the “build through the draft” process if the Durant experiment went wrong.
Something like this would be a good deal for the Wizards:
Washington receives:
- Kevin Durant (one year, $54.7 million left on contract after this season)
Phoenix receives:
- Alex Sarr (three years, $39.8 million left. Club option in 2027)
- Marcus Smart (one year, $21.6 million)
- AJ Johnson (three years, $11.8 million left. Club option in 2026)
- 2025 second (via PHX)
- 2025 second
- 2026 first (PHX swap rights)
- 2026 second (via CHI)
- 2026 second
- 2026 second (via MIN, NYK, NOP, or POR)
- 2026 second (via PHX)
- 2027 second (via PHX)
- 2027 second
- 2028 first (PHX, BKN, or PHI swap rights)
- 2030 first (PHX swap rights)
- 2030 second (via PHX)
Note: Phoenix can't currently aggregate salaries in a trade as a second-apron team, so it would have to cut players to clear cap space before this deal. This trade also wouldn't violate the Stepien Rule since Washington will have its 2025 lottery pick, and the rule doesn't apply to pick swaps.
This would give the Suns two promising youngsters for the future as well as all of its picks back from the Beal trade, in addition to others. Parting with Sarr would hurt, as he could win Rookie of the Year this season, but the Wizards would still have a quality roster featuring Durant, Poole, their 2025 lottery pick, Coulibaly, Carrington, and George. The key would be to re-sign Durant, as it would be disastrous if they gave up all these assets for one season of him.
Washington would likely convey its 2026 top-eight protected lottery pick to the Knicks in this scenario, as they'd shoot up the standings next season. Still, it'd be worth it if Durant finished his career with the team while attracting other free-agents.
The chances of this happening are about as likely as aliens taking over the Earth, but making crazy trade scenarios is part of the joy of NBA fandom.
