The NBA is expecting movement among the stars this offseason, with Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant widely believed to be on his way out of Arizona. To be clear, Durant doesn’t sound like wants to pack his bags. Nonetheless, the Suns are in a bit of a pickle, and trading him may be their only way out.
If so, there are five teams that are usually linked to the future Hall of Famer — the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors, and the Houston Rockets. However, there are three other teams that have been suggested as potential destinations as well — the San Antonio Spurs, the New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s worth mentioning that there are conflicting reports about the Rockets’ interest in Durant though. Furthermore, The Athletic insider Jovan Buha has thrown cold water on the idea of Durant landing with the Lakers.
Lakers Not Among Kevin Durant Trade Suitors?
“I have not heard anything about the Lakers being interested in Kevin Durant,” Buha says. “I think that might just be a situation where someone throws the Lakers out there to get some buzz with it.
“For the Lakers, a hypothetical trade for KD would have to be something like Austin [Reaves], Rui [Hachimura], Dalton [Knecht], Gabe [Vincent], Maxi [Kleber], a pick, and a couple pick swaps. That’s a lot.”
“The Lakers are basically giving up everything that they could trade. For KD, you can make that case, but if you’re Phoenix, if you have an open bidding with at least multiple teams, you can get more than that.”
Never Say Never
The concept of Durant heading to the Lakers may seem far-fetched. Nevertheless, after L.A. managed to swing a trade for Luka Doncic, it’s more improbable than implausible. Furthermore, given how secretive their front office was about trading for Doncic, the media not hearing anything substantive about Durant being an offseason trade target doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
That being said, the Suns likely would have a better option than what the Lakers would want to offer. Unless Doncic requests a trade in the offseason, a legitimate possibility, they’d have to accept a package headlined by Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. To be fair, Reaves and Hachimura are starter-level players with the potential to put up star-caliber numbers. Nevertheless, they’re not cut from Durant’s cloth.
If Phoenix accepted an offer featuring Reaves and Hachimura, they’d likely have been enticed by first-round picks. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they can only surrender their 2031 first-round pick.
Competing Offers
Neither the Heat, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Spurs, Warriors, Knicks, nor Rockets may want to offer much more than Los Angeles from a personnel standpoint.
Still, Miami could put together a trade package centered around Andrew Wiggins, a one-time All-Star. Minnesota could create a package centered around Julius Randle, a three-time All-Star. Dallas’s trade package could feature Klay Thompson, a five-time All-Star. New York’s package could be headlined by Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby. Notably, Bridges spent the first four-plus seasons of his career in Phoenix.
If the Suns wanted to go younger, they might accept a package centered around San Antonio’s Devin Vassell. Chris Paul, who helped lead the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals, could also be included in the offer. In that same vein, Phoenix could turn their attention to Houston’s Amen Thompson or Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga.
Frankly, none of these players are on the 15-time All-Star’s plane. Nonetheless, many are more established or capable scorers or defenders than Reaves or Hachimura. Sans the Knicks, each of the aforementioned franchises can also offer at least two first-rounders for Durant.
Thus, as Buha states, the Suns will probably have better choices in a bidding war for Durant.
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