The latest in a seemingly endless list of first-round draft picks sent out during the Kevin Durant trade has officially conveyed. On Monday, May 12, the 2025 NBA Draft lottery revealed that Phoenix will be sending the No. 10 overall selection to the Houston Rockets.
Far from the end of the Durant trade saga, the Suns have been given yet another reminder of how much they gave up for their failed experiment.
Phoenix acquired Durant from the Brooklyn Nets for a package that included Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, four first-round draft picks, and a pick swap. The Suns still owe Brooklyn first-round selections in 2027 and 2029, and the pick swap will be available to the Nets in 2028.
Phoenix has done some degree of damage control by acquiring three future first-round draft picks from the Utah Jazz, but the impact of the Durant trade continues to haunt them.
Phoenix can take solace in the fact that it will receive the No. 29 overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, it missed out on a top-10 selection in a class that's believed to have more depth in terms of top-end talent than the 2024 group.
At a time when the Suns have become desperate for cost-effective talent to develop, they must face the harsh reality that a golden opportunity has passed them by.
Suns officially lose No. 10 pick in 2025 NBA Draft to Rockets
Despite Durant's best efforts to keep an injury-plagued team afloat, Phoenix failed to realize its potential. The Suns went 49-33 in Durant's first season with the franchise, during which time he played 75 games.
Unfortunately, Devin Booker missed 14 games due to injury, Bradley Beal was absent from 29, and the Suns' lack of depth derailed its momentum en route to a first-round exit.
2024-25 proved to be a remarkably similar story, only with Durant missing 20 games and Booker playing 75. Beal was absent from another 29, and not even a promising mid-season trade for center NIck Richards could fix what was already broken.
The result was Phoenix firing head coach Mike Budenholzer after just one season—much as it relieved Frank Vogel of his duties after just one year in 2024.
To make matters worse, Durant and the Suns have now agreed to pursue a mutually beneficial trade. Much as the head coaches were let go after just one season, Durant will be moving on after completing just two full years in Phoenix.
The Suns, meanwhile, will be forced to continue to watch as their draft picks are utilized by other franchises over a trade that never managed to bear fruit.
Phoenix will get a temporary respite from the Durant trade in 2026, when the Beal deal will force it to complete a pick swap. It's also on the hook for first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030 due to the trade to acquire Beal.
Credit is due to the Suns for being proactive in pursuing moves that can salvage its future, but a once promising trade has become a source of agony for Phoenix.