The Phoenix Suns mortgaged their future in their trade for Kevin Durant, a decision that ultimately aged poorly. The furthest they made it with Durant in the playoffs was the second round, which happened a few months after the trade. His time with the organization ended this past summer, a couple of months after the team missed the play-in tournament. The front office made the right decision to trade him, but could've gotten a better package.
Without going into a rant about what the Suns received for Durant, we're going to stick to the fact that it was evident it was time to part with the superstar. The writing was on the wall after Phoenix and Golden State discussed a KD trade before the 2025 deadline, which he nixed because he didn't want to be traded midseason.
He was fine with an offseason trade to Houston, joining the team that finished No. 2 in the West the previous season. The Rockets flamed out in the first round of the playoffs this past season at the hands of the Warriors, but with Durant, they have their sights set on a championship.
It's a little ironic that the Suns are 15-13, seventh in the West, three games behind the No. 6 Rockets, who have a 17-9 record. Phoenix has exceeded expectations at this point in the season, thanks in part to Dillon Brooks, whom the team received in the Durant trade.
Suns look better after offseason Kevin Durant trade
Things didn't work for Durant in Phoenix, but that's not a knock against who he is as a player. Even at 37, he's one of the top stars in the league. The Suns' roster construction and their payroll were a recipe for disaster. They needed a fresh start without entering a rebuilding phase (refer back to the first six words of this piece), so they traded KD and waived and stretched the remainder of Bradley Beal's contract. Look how that's turned out.
Phoenix is more competitive now than it was in the past few seasons, even after losing two of its stars. Devin Booker is doing Devin Booker things on and off the court, averaging a team-high 25.6 points per game and being the leader that he is. Speaking of leaders, Jordan Ott is doing pretty well in his first-ever head coach job.
Mat Ishbia talked about a culture reset following whatever the 2024-25 campaign was, and so far, it looks like the Suns have successfully done just that. No one is saying that it wouldn't have been nice to win a title with Durant, but it got to a point where Phoenix needed to shake it up. Now, let's hope that Khaman Maluach, whom the team acquired in the KD trade, will one day become a star.