No matter what happens for the remaider of the Phoenix Suns' 2024-25 season, it is clear that changes are coming this offseason. Although the franchise likely wishes it was Bradley Beal who they were moving on in order to try and improve - they even found a suitor at the deadline - it is Kevin Durant who will be making way.
The Suns already tested the waters in this regard, offering the 36-year-old to the Golden State Warriors at the deadline. That move didn't happen, but only because Durant himself shut the idea down. More proof - not that it was needed - that an ageing superstar still has a lot of pull when it comes to choosing his preferred next destination, if he even has one.
The Suns have now set their asking price this summer for Durant.
That's according to the always reputable Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who sources have told him from within the Suns' organization that an ideal asking price for Durant's services has been confirmed. Should this come to pass, it will bring with it a whole host of other issues, such as what the team will do next around to Devin Booker.
According to Rankin, "sources informed The Republic the most ideal return on a Durant trade is regaining three first-round picks and a young player as part of a multi-team deal tied to getting under the second apron." It is that under the second apron part that should worry The Valley, because this could be viewed as a method of saving money as much as anything else.
Yes it would give the franchise some valuable and needed first round picks again, but most of them could also be used to ditch Beal. That would leave Booker alone in Phoenix with - as a best case scenario - a second star that also helps them get under the second apron. The hope then would be to add the necessary depth to compete around these guys, but that is easier said than done.
"The more I watch him at age 36, the more he [KD] looks mentally semi-retired to me." pic.twitter.com/YmlIM6hNhe
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) March 8, 2025
That is also assuming Beal is willing to waive his no-trade clause, which to this point he has not. If the Suns did manage to start bringing in high level first round picks again - to pair with the likes of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro - the Suns would be putting themselves in a better place to build this thing from the ground up again.
Only the problem there is that Booker may not want to stick around and see how that pans out. He's now 28-years-old - and although stars are remaining elite for as long as ever - there is no guarantee rebuilding the right way through the draft and more practical trades shakes out the right way. The doomsday scenario is that Booker also asks to be moved, leave Phoenix with Beal plus youth.
No matter what though this team has to make changes during the offseason, and it is going to begin with trading Durant. Making this even harder is the fact he is entering the final year of his current deal next season, and so in theory could only be a rental for whoever trades for him. The list of teams out there who have the draft picks to get this done isn't massive either.
Perhaps the most logical are the Oklahoma City Thunder - and yet because of Durant's history there - that is complicated. Going to the Houston Rockets or San Antonio Spurs might also not appeal to him, considering the odds of winning another title there are currently slim. The promise of a bumper new deal in his next location however, may change the conversation.