Embarrassing Kevin Durant blunder has Suns front office looking as clueless as ever

The Phoenix Suns are in the process of trading Kevin Durant, although to this point the entire experience has not gone as expected. The bidding war they hoped would break out hasn't taken place - and with the NBA Draft in the coming days - it is unclear if the franchise will be able to get a deal done ahead of picks being made.

They wouldn't even be in this situation if they'd never added Bradley Beal and his no-trade clause, a move that Durant himself was seemingly all for at the time the Suns acquired him from the Washington Wizards. Complicating matters further is the massive haul the Memphis Grizzlies just got for Desmond Bane, a fine player but somebody who has never even been an All-Star.

Ability of Suns' front office again being called into question.

John Hollinger & Nate Duncan were speaking on their "Hollinger & Duncan NBA Show" in the wake of Bane's move to the Orlando Magic, and the conversation naturally pivoted to what the Suns could now hope to get for Duncan. Hollinger did not hold back in his assessment of the situation, and he went as far as to say that -

"I think this is just a classic Phoenix s*it show. They thought they were gonna get stronger offers than they’re getting, and now they don’t really know what to do." It was the way in which Hollinger phrased this that will hurt the most, like fans and everybody else around the league shouldn't be surprised by how the Suns have handled this, they have a history of messing up situations like this one.

The only saving grace here - although calling it that is a massive stretch - is that the Durant saga really began at the trade deadline, when the Suns were open to shipping him off to the Golden State Warriors in order to add Jimmy Butler. James Jones was the General Manager at that time, so perhaps a change in direction in the front office is a good thing here?

That is an optimistic view, as Brian Gregory has since taken over and is very much seen as an Ishbia hire. Their links to Michigan State have been brought up extensively, but even more worrying is the lack of experience he has for the job. Being thrown in the deep end here and expecting to figure out a trade for a soon to be 37-year-old that also works for the Suns is a massive ask.

Then again - if these are the kinds of asks they're looking for in a Durant trade - then it is no wonder they're stuck in this situation. The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs sure could use Durant's offensive game to take them up a level. But they're not going to overpay for his services and mortgage their future to do so. That's what the Suns did, remind us how that's going again?