The Phoenix Suns are in the process of trading Kevin Durant, although that sounds like a sentence you have heard a lot around these parts recently. The whole ordeal turning into a long and drawn out one, and leaving the Suns looking foolish on several occasions throughout. Durant will leave The Valley this offseason, or will he?
Brian Windhorst of ESPN recently went as far as to say that - at this point - the Suns could just keep Durant for now and try again later. Entering the final year of his current deal however, and the franchise would then lose him next summer for nothing. Is an underwhelming return - such as this one - better than a blank hole where Durant used to be? Doesn't make much sense.
Latest intel claims this could drag on beyond the NBA Draft.
Marc Stein and Jake Fischer combined for one of their always anticipated notes around the league on Friday - and while much of the talk again centered around Durant - there was a kernel of new information in there. Namely that the 36-year-old could still be on the team not only after Wednesday's NBA Draft, but well into next week too.
That's a problem - both because everybody is sick of talking about it and wants to move on with their lives - but on a more practical level because it means the Suns may not get any additional picks in this year's draft class. One that many expect to be deep, and which every franchise serious about acquiring Durant has a first round pick.
Already we have tried to give a very optimistic outlook about how the draft is going to go for the Suns, but not having a pick outside of their own 29th selection is a problem. This franchise has many flaws, but they have done a nice job in the last few years of picking incoming rookies well. Toumani Camara will always be the one that got away, but Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro have shown promise.
On top of that - once the draft has been made and if Durant is still in Phoenix - it becomes harder to prise youngsters away from rival teams. They don't want to be seen to give up on a prospect they liked - just like the Suns with Camara - and will instead move on without Durant. This is a situation all of the Suns' making, and it looks like we could be speculating for a while yet.