The Phoenix Suns gave up a mountain of capital, including the tenth overall pick in the 2025 draft that turned into Khaman Maluach, to get Kevin Durant at the 2023 trade deadline. It was a blockbuster move just days after Mat Ishbia bought the team. Phoenix won just one playoff series in three years and dumped KD to get that tenth pick back. It was stunning to see the owner admit his failure, but the latest move leaves the Suns in an awful position.
Phoenix owes the Nets' draft capital through 2029 and got a subpar return for KD. Jalen Green is a young score-first guard capable of becoming an All-Star. The Suns got a solid role player in Dillon Books and this draft pick. It won’t make up for what they paid, but the franchise hopes to remain in the playoff mix as they accumulate the assets to make more moves.
Ishbia thought trading for Durant would make the Suns a true title contender, but it never worked. They reached the second round in 2023 before going downhill after the Bradley Beal trade. Phoenix had to shake things up this offseason and will keep paying for acquiring the future Hall of Famer.
Suns’ lottery pick was part of Kevin Durant trade to the Nets
Phoenix fans do not want to see this, but here are the full details of their trade to acquire KD with the players selected filled in for the draft picks that already happened.
- Suns received: Kevin Durant, T.J. Warren
- Nets received: Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Juan Pablo Vaulet, Noah Clowney,
- Bucks received: Jae Crowder
- Pacers received: George Hill, Serge Ibaka, Jordan Nwora, Isaiah Wong, Quentin Post, cash
Khaman Maluach, 2027 1st round pick, 2029 1st round pick, 2028 1st round pick swap, 2 2nd round picks
The Nets went on to flip Mikal Bridges for five first-round picks to the Knicks to create their own mountain of draft capital.
The tenth overall pick made quite the journey. The Suns traded it to Brooklyn before the Nets flipped it to Houston to get their draft choices back. The Nets wanted to rebuild, but owed picks to the Rockets from the James Harden trade. Houston sent it back to Phoenix just a few days ago in the latest blockbuster trade.
The Suns gave up Durant to get Khaman Maluach, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and five second-round picks from the Rockets. Fans do not need to hear about how much less they got back than they gave up. This was a gigantic mistake, but it finally got Phoenix their center of the present and future.
Phoenix will be haunted by this trade for four more years. It is not going away and will look even worse if the Suns are forced to enter a full rebuild. They will struggle to build a contending roster with limited draft assets to trade. Their best bet may be sending out Booker to get their picks back and try to completely reset.
The Phoenix Suns certainly regret trading for Kevin Durant. They gave up too much and failed to build around him. Their only option was to trade him away this offseason at a steep discount. They improved the Rockets' chances of winning to get back the tenth pick. It is a massive gamble on this prospect turning into a star. If not, the Suns' future will only get bleaker. Sadly, that is the most likely outcome.