The Phoenix Suns should overpay…and sign Kevin Durant
By Adam Maynes
Why choose Phoenix
Once regularly acclaimed as the greatest medical staff in the NBA if not North American professional sports, a staff that resurrected the likes of Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal while keeping the obviously broken down Charles Barkley and Steve Nash on the court for what seemed like years beyond when they should have been forced to retire, the Phoenix Suns’ medical staff is now led abnormal from how they had been throughout their previous 50+ years of history.
Long-time trainer Aaron Nelson was essentially pushed out (he then joined the New Orleans Pelicans) in favor of working with a healthcare provider named Steward and corporate wellness company EXOS, who will help the Suns create a “sustainable high performance space,” a dramatically new approach to medicine.
However, while that news was generally taken rather questionably by fans, around the league, these kinds of changes could be what players want to hear.
Do the Phoenix Suns still have one of if not the best medical staff’s in the NBA?
That is certainly not a question that any one of us can personally answer (although players will have an opinion), and if Durant has any reason to believe that the Suns do, following a major injury such as the one that he has just suffered, especially at 30-years-old and the peak of his earning potential, he’s probably going to want to look for the best possible recovery money (or franchise’s) can buy.
Although it is possible (if not probably) that there will be teams still willing to offer Durant a max contract, there is always the chance that such a contract will not be sent his way.
If there happens to be wide-spread competition to spend $40 million dollars for a single season of Durant re-habbing, then I stand corrected and the Phoenix Suns should generally avoid any pursuit.
But such a signing all but guarantees that his new team will not be competing that season if not the next, which could just make KD’s options this offseason very limited.
Lest we forget too Durant’s affinity for new Head Coach Monty Williams.