At least five teams had an interest — mutual interest at that — in acquiring Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant at the trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Those five teams are expected to circle back on Durant trades this coming offseason, the reporter said Wednesday while on The Pat McAfee Show.
“It just hasn’t worked out in Phoenix. From a wholistic perspective, there’s going to be changes coming to Phoenix, barring a miracle finish to the year,” Charania said. “There’s going to be a lot they’re going to look at … from a roster perspective, that’s going to start with Kevin Durant and potentially finding him a new home.
“Unlike at the trade deadline, when he was almost traded to the Warriors, the Suns (and) Kevin Durant, they would work together on any trade. But I can tell you this: Back at the NBA trade deadline, there was a list of teams that there was mutual interest (between) Kevin Durant and those teams, from my understanding. That’s Minnesota, that’s New York, that’s Houston, San Antonio, Miami. … I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason.”
What teams might have an interest in trading for Suns star Kevin Durant this offseason?
The T-Wolves already were reportedly linked to Durant, who in that scenario would, in theory, team with wing Anthony Edwards, who has called Durant his favorite player growing up.
Houston was briefly tied to Durant trade talks last offseason. In a trade scenario, the Rockets have a core of developing young stars such as Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and Amen Thompson, as well as some of the Suns’ first-round picks from Phoenix’s Durant acquisition from the Brooklyn Nets.
Miami was logically a potential Durant suitor since the Suns this season tried to pry Jimmy Butler away from the Heat.
San Antonio is a new team of intrigue because Durant went to college in nearby Austin, Texas, and the Spurs have sped up the building process around Victor Wembanyama by trading for point guard De’Aaron Fox.
The Knicks are No. 3 in the Eastern Conference right now and have gobs of talent at the front end of the roster.
How each of those teams manages the rest of this season will dictate how willing they’ll be to return to a Durant pursuit this summer.
The Spurs lost Wembanyama (blood clot) and Fox for the season (finger injury) and are on the outside looking in, but there is no reason they wouldn’t want to aim for a deep playoff push next season.
The Heat are lacking star power and are currently battling for play-in positioning in the Eastern Conference.
Minnesota underachieved after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade in the offeason but has a reason for urgency after a playoff run last year.
The Rockets have a decision to make: Is their young core good enough to have an “ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” mentality, or do they want to add a Durant trade to give them a turbo-boost at risk of the trade package gutting their depth or culture?
Most interesting out of this fivesome from the Suns’ perspective is probably the Knicks, who like the Rockets might be swayed closer to or further from a Durant pursuit based on how the postseason goes. Durant knows the market having left Brooklyn just a few years ago, and New York’s trade package could net Phoenix ready-to-go players who also could help a “pivot and reload” around Devin Booker.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Booker have a history as members of the 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, while Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart are elite core role players.
It’s safe to say a Bridges reunion would go over well with Suns fans, too.
