The Phoenix Suns' season ended a month and a half ago. Since then, several other teams joined in on the offseason fun. Fans might be wondering why there hasn't been anything reported about a Kevin Durant trade — no rumors, no nothing.
Phoenix nearly traded Durant to Golden State before the February deadline, but he nixed the deal. He later said on Draymond Green's podcast that he didn't want to be traded midseason. Most people expect a trade to happen sometime during the offseason, not only because the Suns shopped the star at the deadline without him knowing.
The Suns need to trade Durant to regain some of the control they lost over the past couple of years. Mat Ishbia made it clear that Devin Booker isn't going anywhere, although trading him would give Phoenix the return it needs to rebuild. Bradley Beal might not be going anywhere, either. His no-trade clause kept the Suns from trading him before the deadline.
Ishbia hasn't won over fans' trust since becoming owner in 2023 (he's done the opposite), but he should understand how important a KD trade is.
Suns need to trade Kevin Durant this offseason
The NBA draft is around the corner in what will be the start of what many predict will be a wild offseason. ESPN's Brian Windhorst said he thinks there will be several teams "aggressively" trying to upgrade their rosters or offload money. He said he's preparing for what he expects to be a busy draft period, which could start with Giannis Antetokounmpo requesting a trade.
Antetokounmpo would steal Durant's trade spotlight, but that doesn't mean there would be no interest in the Suns forward. KD is on an expiring contract, and he'll be 37 by the time next season starts, meaning he'll be far less expensive to acquire than Giannis. A team in the East that wants to capitalize on being in a weak conference, but doesn't have the assets to get Giannis, could be compelled to go after Durant. Or maybe a team in the West (like the Rockets) will take a risk on trading for him.
The past few weeks have been silent, but that won't be the case for much longer. There are a little over three weeks until the first round of the draft. The Suns have narrowed down their head coach search, which is the next major item on their to-do list after promoting Brian Gregory to general manager. They'll have that worked out before the draft, giving them the space to work on a Durant trade.
Things are calm now, but a storm is coming.