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NBA Insider Thought Kevin Durant-Warriors Trade Was Close on Tuesday

Durant's availability is one of the hottest storylines with the trade deadline fast approaching.

Josh Wilson

Durant and Curry won two championships together
Durant and Curry won two championships together / John Hefti-Imagn Images
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When Luka Doncic was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, it made it clear that this trade season, nothing should be off the table. Shortly after, whispers about the possibility of a Kevin Durant trade got louder, and we've now learned that the Golden State Warriors have interest in bringing the former MVP back to Golden State.

More important: The Suns are willing to take offers.

The Athletic's Sam Amick reported that on Tuesday night, there were, "moments," where he thought the trade would go down. It sure sounds like discussions between the Suns and Warriors are growing beyond exploratory.

Amick also reported that Draymond Green, a member of all four Warriors titles of this dynasty, is a piece the Warriors have discussed moving in deals. Brian Windhorst spoke about why the Suns might consider moving Durant.

Durant played for the Warriors for three seasons, contributing to two NBA titles in 2017 and 2018. Golden State has been star-hunting for the better part of the last year, being tied to names as big as LeBron James as early as last year's trade deadline. So far, they've been unable to strike gold on a deal to help bring a win-now veteran star to pair with Steph Curry.

Meanwhile, coach Steve Kerr himself has warned against the Warriors mortgaging a future in trades.

While his scoring champion days are behind him, Durant is still a game-changing player, averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this year.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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