Kevin Durant is a former two-time Finals MVP winner and a perennial All-Star. At one point, he was a top-five MVP candidate for years. He very well might be the biggest name traded in the last several years. The Phoenix Suns tried to trade him at this past trade deadline, but in the end, they chose to keep him. In the second part of the season, they had to deal with chemistry issues because of all the failed trades at the deadline. Now, it seems like the Kevin Durant trade saga will finish sooner rather than later.
The End is Near for the Kevin Durant Trade Saga
According to John Gambadoro, a longtime Sports Radio Talk Show host on Arizona Sports, a KD trade is almost done.
There have been rumors about KD going to several teams. But nothing has materialized, mostly because teams are hoping that the Suns will lower their asking price. Right now, the Miami Heat do not want to offer their prized rookie Kel’el Ware, while the Houston Rockets refuse to add any future Suns picks to their offer.
Who Will Get Durant?
Among the teams mentioned as a possible destination for Durant, we have the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, and the San Antonio Spurs. Durant, for his part, has three preferred destinations: the Heat, Spurs, and Rockets. He is a former regular-season MVP, four-time scoring champion, and two-time Finals MVP. Last season, he averaged 26.6 points, 4.2 assists, and six rebounds.
According to the latest betting odds, the Rockets are the favorites to land KD at +250, followed by the Timberwolves at +350, and the Heat at +350. The Spurs and Raptors at +400 round up the top five. All of these teams have something valuable to offer to the Suns, but Phoenix wants to compensate for the price they paid to get Durant.
Why the Rush?
The NBA trade season began when the Memphis Grizzlies sent Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic. Usually, the trade season begins on draft night because teams want to draft a player they like. With the draft scheduled for June 25th and June 26th, the Suns do not have many days left to make a decision.
KD has only one year left on his contract and a list of preferred destinations he would love to go to. That doesn’t mean that Phoenix cannot trade him to another team. But teams that know he will not sign an extension and will not be happy there are less likely to give up worthy assets. With only a few days left leading up to the draft, the question now is who will blink first? Will the Suns lower the asking price and accept the best offer on the table? Or will some of the teams trying to trade for Durant up their offer? If nothing happens until draft night, the Kevin Durant trade saga might linger throughout the entire summer.
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