The Phoenix Suns began their offseason more than a month ago, and only now have they gotten around to trading away Kevin Durant. The 36-year-old headed to the Houston Rockets for one of the most meh returns for a star - albeit an ageing one - that we can remember. Durant the player will be remembered fondly in Phoenix. The Suns team during his tenure? Massively underwhelming.
The Oklahoma City Thunder on the other hand are NBA Champions, and they achieved this by sticking with the vision laid out by their General Manager Sam Presti, through thick and thin. All along they have preached patience - something Suns' owner Mat Ishbia possesses none of - and it paid off for them.
Suns can follow Thunder's model of second round picks back to success.
Towards the end of ABC's broadcast as the Thunder were celebrating their Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers, the commentary team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson brought up a crazy fact about how Oklahoma City built their roster. In their rotation throughout the regular season - and for much of the playoffs as well - they had a whopping five second round picks playing for them.
For those of you keeping score at home, the Suns just received five second-rounders from the Rockets in the Durant deal. By far the least talked about aspect of the deal, but something that could help the Suns in years to come. Obviously the Thunder nailed these selections - but to be fair to the Suns - the draft has not been an area of weakness for them in recent years.
3 un-drafted players, 5 second round picks all in the #Thunder top 12 rotation. Let that sink in. Sam saw the potential and look at the payoff. Legend. #NBAChampions 🏆 🏀 @okcthunder
— Erielle Reshef (@ErielleReshef) June 23, 2025
They've never come close to a Jalen Williams type - while there was luck in getting the lottery pick that turned into Chet Holmgren - but Toumani Camara, Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro were all nice selections. Granted some of these aforementioned selections from both the Thunder and Suns were taken in the first round, but the point still stands.
It gets crazier, as the Thunder also had three undrafted players in their rotation too. There's nothing to stop the Suns identifying talent that slipped through the cracks and bringing them to Phoenix. The harder part is creating a culture that these players fit into - like the Thunder did with their defensive-minded approach - before plugging in the right pieces to the back end of their rotation.
The Suns already have the hard part on their roster in Devin Booker, just like the Thunder managed to trade for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The missing ingredient in The Valley though is the Alex Caruso trade and signing Isaiah Hartenstein last offseason with the cap space they had created, two of the key moments that led to this championship. The Suns are a long way off replicating that.
But given their cap sheet woes, the fact the Thunder built out so much of a title-winning team with second round selections and undrafted players should be music to the ears of the Suns' front office. That requires some luck, but also just evaluating the right talent - that can be brought onboard cheaply - as they climb the standings. It is a starting point, and one the Suns have to explore.