Despite being seen as buyers more than sellers as the NBA's trade deadline approaches, the Phoenix Suns and their star player Kevin Durant have been dragged into trade rumors. With Jimmy Butler looking unlikely to get his wish and make it to The Valley after a month of trying, attention has turned to Durant in the final days of this crazy period.
Not helping matters here was the apparent willingness of the Suns to listen to offers for the 36-year-old after another underwhelming season to this point for the organization, while they are rumored to be admirers of this young Golden State Warriors player as well. It was the Warriors who appeared to have the biggest interest in going after Durant, and bringing him back for a second stint.
Now Durant has broken his silence on the matter.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Durant has no desire to revisit the past and reunite with Stephen Curry in San Francisco. As we already explained in detail prior to the Warriors emerging as serious candidates to trade for the all-time great, going back there would put another dent in a legacy that has seen its fair share of blows.
The story doesn't end there however - as although Durant is now emphatic on his stance at it pertains to the Warriors - that doesn't mean they're going to throw in the towel just yet. Jake Fischer recently claimed one source of his told him the Warriors might just go ahead and trade for Durant anyway, while Brian Windhorst did at least confirm that talks had taken place between the two sides.
An interesting subplot to all of this is the fact Durant could have reservations about joining forces with Draymond Green once again, a teammate he has clashed with in the past. That could be solved by Green moving to another organization in a potential three-team trade to get Durant to The Bay Area, although the Suns are thought to be admirers of Green as well.
This would make sense - there's a reason they went so hard after Butler for so long - and that is because like Green they possess that fiery intensity that has been sadly lacking from the Suns since Durant came to Phoenix. That's not Durant or even Devin Booker's fault either but rather, an inability by the franchise to add these kinds of characters to the roster.
Kevin Durant isn't interested in a Warriors reunion despite a rumored trade, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/jsrtApFz7L
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 5, 2025
The final layer to all of this is the supposed interest from the Dallas Mavericks in all of this. A crazy notion, although you wouldn't bet against them after they turned Luka Doncic into Anthony Davis. The Mavericks even have a handful of players that the Suns should be interested in, and who make sense next to Booker both from a fit and timeline standpoint.
Durant appears defiant at this point - but unlike teammate Bradley Beal - he does not possess a no-trade clause. The Doncic deal appears to have emboldened front offices to go and make the deals they want to, even if it upsets their star players. If the Suns really want Butler - or just accept that the Durant experiment is done - they'll move him before the deadline. Durant's stance though, is clear.