New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends KD to Wolves, Rudy Gobert to Suns, Hawks Add New Sixth Man

The Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant parting ways this off-season seems to be approaching inevitability. Due to his massive $54.7 million dollar salary next season and the Suns needing both draft assets and cap flexibility, they need to consider trading the future Hall of Fame forward for the best return they can get. He'll be 37 years old by the time the new season starts and the Suns missed the playoffs entirely last season.

While there aren't a ton of teams that can realistically acquire Durant, one of the teams that can realistically make a move for him is the Minnesota Timberwolves. The link between Durant and Minnesota has been well established for a while now. The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski reported at the trade deadline about their frantic attempt to lock down a Durant trade.

"Connelly and the Timberwolves explored getting into the Durant sweepstakes to unite him with his Olympic pal, Anthony Edwards. Timberwolves sources believed Durant would have been open to coming to Minnesota. Nothing came close to fruition, team sources said, though there was a swell of hope as the day wore on."

While the second apron restrictions made it difficult to get a deal done in the middle of the year, the offseason brings a lot more flexibility for the Timberwolves. They are just under the first apron, meaning that they can take on a big contract like Durant's if they send out a big contract and some smaller contracts to create room. All they need is a third team to take on some of those smaller contracts.

The Hawks have a ton of financial flexibility this summer, which they can use to address their needs at interior defense, front court depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could also look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.

Given the needs of all three teams, what would a trade between them look like? Here is one possible framework for a deal.

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley, 2028 1st round pick swap (via MIN)

Phoenix Suns Receive: Rudy Gobert, 2025 2nd round pick (via UTA, from MIN, #31), 2030 2nd round pick (via MEM, from MIN)

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Kevin Durant, Kobe Bufkin

Why the Hawks would do this deal: If the Hawks got the Knicks version of Donte DiVicenzo, there's no question that this deal would make them a better team in 2025-26. Last season, he averaged a career-best 15.5 points and 3P% of 40.1 on 8.7 attempts per game as a critical part of New York's lineup. He also came through in the postseason with massive performances for the Knicks in their first-round series against the 76ers. His first season with Minnesota wasn't as good, but he still managed to deliver value for the Timberwolves in the regular season. In 2024-25, he shot 39.7% from deep on 7.1 attempts per game and posted an above-average TS% of 58.2%. DiVincenzo isn't entirely one-dimensional either - he posted a career-high AST% of 20.2% and took on more facilitation duties than he did in his previous roles. Although the Hawks were 4th in 3P% after the trade deadline, they still finished the season 18th in 3P%. Adding more shooting in the offseason is definitely a priority for the Hawks and DiVincenzo would go a long ways towards fixing that. Conley may seem like an odd fit for a team that already has Trae Young, but he's a reliable ball-handler that can run the offense when Young sits. That holds value because Trae has had to shoulder such an extensive load for Atlanta. He still remains a great shooter from deep, hitting 41% of his threes on 4.4 attempts per game. Furthermore, the Hawks also get a first-round pick swap in 2028, which could be beneficial towards their team-building process.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: Adding $22.6 million to the roster on two backcourt pieces when the Hawks need more front court depth is admittedly a strange decision, especially when those two pieces are not coming off especially strong seasons. DiVincenzo did not have a great postseason for Minnesota and while it's a little easier to see how he might fit around a star point guard like Young, it's a risk considering that he's still signed for another two seasons. Furthermore, DiVincenzo is also very targetable on defense and that's a problem considering the Hawks already struggle to field a good perimeter defense.

Why the Suns would do this deal: They cut $19.7 million in salary and get the starting center they've been looking for in Gobert who instantly gives them a much higher defensive floor. The Suns already have two high-volume scorers in Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but they can now evaluate how their roster works with a true rim protector that can cover up for a leaky perimeter defense. Pairing Ryan Dunn, who showed exciting defensive potential in his rookie season, with Gobert should make the Suns a balanced enough team to make a postseason push in 2025-26.

Why the Suns would not do this deal: Not getting a player who could theoretically replace Durant in the starting lineup would be a difficult look, but the other consideration is whether Gobert can still deliver elite defensive impact. Last season, his BLK% was 2.3% (73rd percentile), his fgOR% was 11.3% (78th percentile) and his fgDR% was 20.1% (68th percentile). While solid, all of those numbers were either at or above the 90th percentile last season. Given how limited he is on offense, it isn't worth making this deal for Phoenix unless there is confidence Gobert can deliver on his reputation as a 4x Defensive Player of the Year.

Why the Timberwolves would do this deal: It shouldn't be hard to see why a team helmed by Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards would be a big-time threat in the Western Conference. While only adding $1.4 million in salary, they add a tailor-made second option who averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 52.7/43/83.9 shooting splits last season. Edwards was one of the best high-volume three-point shooters in basketball last year and adding one of the best shooters in NBA history would only improve his effectiveness from that range. While Durant is not the defender Gobert is, he still has value on that end due to his massive size. This deal also allows the Wolves to keep Naz Reid and then use their first-round pick on a center like Danny Wolf or Thomas Sorber to preserve the double-big optionality. Furthermore, the Timberwolves can still keep Julius Randle in this scenario and run out a massive starting five of Edwards, Durant, Jaden McDaniels, Randle and Naz Reid.

Why the Timberwolves wouldn't do this deal: Durant is going to be 37 years old next season and if he gets injured for an extensive stretch of time, it will be somewhat difficult for Minnesota to navigate that considering that they won't have Gobert's excellent defense to fall back on. Furthermore, it's possible there aren't enough shots to go around between Randle, KD and Edwards.

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