New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Kevin Durant to Clippers, Hawks Get Royce O'Neale, Suns Add Depth

While nothing is ever 100% guaranteed in the NBA, it seems incredibly likely that Kevin Durant is getting dealt this summer. The Phoenix Suns have very little in terms of draft capital and are still stuck in the second apron despite missing the playoffs entirely last season. As a result, they conceded the 10th overall pick to the Houston Rockets. It is clear that they need to make some serious changes and trading Durant is one of the easiest ways they can do that.

Even so, there aren't a ton of teams that have a starting role for Durant and can realistically trade for him. While Durant has been linked to the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the most interesting destinations for the Hall of Fame forward is the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers were much better than many expected last season behind a strong trio of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac flanked by an excellent defense. However, they ran out of steam against the Denver Nuggets and lost in Game 7 of a tightly contested series. Adding Durant to their roster could make them an even tougher out in the 2025-26 playoffs.

The Atlanta Hawks aren't in a position to realistically trade for Durant, but they can serve as a facilitator for deals this summer. They have $40 million in salary cap flexibility under the luxury tax threshold with needs in their front court depth and defense. Because the Suns are working under such tight salary constraints, including a third team like Atlanta would make the move easier to accomodate.

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

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: Royce O'Neale, 2027 2nd round pick (via LAC)

Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Kevin Durant, Vit Krejci

Phoenix Suns Receive: Kris Dunn, Dominick Barlow, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Jordan Miller, Norman Powell, 2031 1st round pick (via LAC, top-3 protected), 2027 2nd round pick (via CLE, from ATL), 2031 2nd round pick (via ATL)

Why the Hawks would do this deal: While it's impossible for the Hawks to solve all their needs with one player, adding O'Neale should strengthen Atlanta's frontcourt depth, defense and shooting. He's a 6'6 wing who can slot in as either a SF or PF, which means he can stand in as a replacement for Jalen Johnson if Johnson gets hurt again. O'Neale shot a career-best 40.6% from deep on 5.9 attempts per game, so he brings real spacing to the Hawks. For reference, he finished in the 91st percentile for 3P% across all forwards. On defense, he can hold his own against most wings and competes as a defensive rebounder with a DREB% of 14.6% last season. He's a veteran player who should thrive playing off a point guard like Trae Young due to getting tons of catch-and-shoot opportunities.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: The concern with O'Neale is his age. He's 31 years old and has already shown signs of decline on defense. Furthermore, he's under contract for the next three seasons and it could be difficult to move off of that contract should the decline come quicker than anticipated. O'Neale is also a fairly one-dimensional scorer - he only shot 31% from midrange and 64% at the rim last season. If his three-pointer isn't falling, he doesn't offer a ton of consistent offense and that could be a problem given that the Hawks have a somewhat similar player in Georges Niang.

Why the Clippers would do this deal: A core of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Ivica Zubac should be one of the five best teams in the West next season. Durant is 36 years old, but he's still an incredible scorer. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 52.7/43/83.9 shooting splits and has experience working off of Harden from their time in Brooklyn. They can slot Batum or Derrick Jones Jr into the starting lineup as the fifth starter and retain a lot of their defensive ability while having enough space to bring back Amir Coffey this offseason. The Clippers would likely have to pay the luxury tax because they would be only $2.1 million below the tax, but Steve Ballmer has shown a willingness to spend on the team. Durant has been a consistent scorer in the postseason as well and would reduce the scoring burden on Harden and Leonard throughout the season. He also played 62 games last season, which is very solid considering his age. Krejci isn't a household name, but he shot over 40% from three for the second straight season, going for a career-high 43.7% this season on an average of 3.6 attempts per game. In fact, Krejci ranked in the 92nd percentile in three-point accuracy per Cleaning the Glass. He was a deadly accurate shooter and that was how he was most effective for the Hawks.

Why the Clippers would not do this deal: They are losing a lot of depth in this deal and that depth helped them earn a playoff berth last season. Specifically, LA's defense could be much worse as a result of this move because they are losing Kris Dunn, who was one of their best perimeter defenders in 2024-25. Furthermore, Durant is 36 years old and it has to be acknowledged that his health is far from a guarantee. If LA isn't getting the same player that he was this season, this move would quickly be a terrible step for the Clippers. Krejci is also more offensively-tilted and needs to get better on defense in order to earn more minutes.

Why the Suns would do this deal: The Suns have been a very top-heavy team over the past few seasons, but this move reverses that trend and makes them a much deeper team. Powell had a breakout season for the Clippers last season by averaging 21.8 points on a TS% of 61.5%. Specifically, he had an incredible year as a three-point shooter, canning 41.8% of his 7.1 attempts from deep per game. Bogdanovic struggled with the Hawks, but he looked better with the Clippers as he averaged 11.4 points behind an impressive 42.7% from deep on 4.8 attempts per game. Dunn is a tenacious point-of-attack defender and pestered opposing ball-handlers all season for an excellent Clippers defense. They also add a young big man with potential in Dominick Barlow and Jordan Miller, a young wing who's shown potential in the G League. Both need to develop more in order to be viable at the NBA level, but the Suns are short on young talent and these are good upside moves for them to take on.

Why the Suns would not do this deal: Other than Kris Dunn, they aren't getting any additive defenders and the Suns' defense was a big problem last season. Barlow and Miller also have a significant amount of development ahead of them and the Suns could want young players with higher ceilings.

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