Five Teams Emerge as Favorites to Land Kevin Durant, But "Several Wild-Card Suitors Have Made Inquiries"

One of the biggest offseason storylines is going to be the potential Kevin Durant trade out of Phoenix. It has felt like a near certainity that Durant was going to be moved out of Phoenix, but due to the fact that he is 37 years old, on the final year of his contract, and has had injury problems in recent years, what will the return look like? It is not going to be the same kind of return that Phoenix gave up to get Durant out of Brooklyn, but he is still an All-NBA caliber player and could elevate any team that he goes to.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the list of teams where Durant could end up is potentially narrowing. Per Charania's report, "Teams that have expressed interest in Durant, sources said, mainly feature the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks. Several wild-card suitors have made inquiries on Durant in the past seven to 10 days, sources said. Teams around the NBA have been anticipating that Durant would be traded ever since the Suns engaged in talks around the February trade deadline, which passed with the All-Star still in Phoenix. Suns officials and Kleiman will continue to meet on trade conversations -- with talks expected to escalate before the NBA draft later this month."

ESPN reporting: The Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant’s business partner, Rich Kleiman, are sorting through trade options - with interested teams mainly featuring Houston, San Antonio, Minnesota, Miami and New York.https://t.co/tqpprx47O4
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2025

The wording of this is interesting. While it seems that the favorites are Miami, Minnesota, San Antonio, Houston, and New York are the most likely landing spots (hence why they are favorites), it is notable that "wild card suitors" are mentioned. Could one of those teams get more involved and could one of those teams be the Hawks?

Doing a trade for Durant would be difficult, but not impossible for Atlanta, though it would likely have to include them giving up Onyeka Okongwu unless you could get a third team involved. Would that be something Atlanta wants to do?

Last week, a report from Hoops Wire NBA reporter Sam Amico suggested that Hawks ownership was seriously considering trying to acquire Durant.

“One league source told Hoops Wire not to be surprised if the Hawks get involved in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. While they have yet to hire a president of basketball operations, team ownership has already inquired internally about Durant, sources said.”

The Atlanta Hawks ownership has reportedly discussed the possibility of trading for Kevin Durant, per @AmicoHoops

“One league source told Hoops Wire not to be surprised if the Hawks get involved in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. While they have yet to hire a president of… pic.twitter.com/x1Ld9CI9QM
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 3, 2025

Matt Moore of ActionNetwork reported that the Suns would also like to get a center back for Durant.

"The Suns have indicated to teams that center is at a premium for them in any KD talks. He might stick around, but their biggest interest is in solving the center position, which has been a disaster since moving on from [Deandre] Ayton.”

This is not the first time the Hawks have been connected with Durant.

Back in March, Clutchpoints insider Brett Siegel shared that the Hawks checked in on Durant at the trade deadline:

"One surprise team that pursued Durant hard at the trade deadline with other teams making calls to Phoenix was the Atlanta Hawks, sources said. The Hawks, who were also in trade discussions with the New Orleans Pelicans on a deal centered around Brandon Ingram before he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, have been searching for another star to play alongside Trae Young.

Could the Hawks take a massive gamble on Durant in the final year of his contract to try and figure things out quickly around Young? With Capela becoming a free agent and likely departing, along with other players on expiring contracts, it's unlikely that Atlanta has the assets and money to make a trade for Durant."

It seems like Durant is going to one of the five teams mentioned, but let's see if a surprise team enters the sweepstakes.

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