Inside The Spurs

New Report on Major Team Kevin Durant Does Not Want to be Traded To

A new ESPN report reveals Kevin Durant wants to stay away from a certain franchise amid trade rumors

Matt Guzman

Dec 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half of an NBA Cup game at Footprint Center.
Dec 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half of an NBA Cup game at Footprint Center. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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SAN ANTONIO — There seems to be a conflict of interest regarding the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant.

Amid reports that Durant is seeking a trade to either the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat, Phoenix has remained hard-pressed to find a suitor willing to give them a similar return to the one they sent the Brooklyn Nets in 2023.

Of those teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves were supposedly interested. According to ESPN's latest report, it isn't mutual.

"I'm told Durant has no desire to be in Minnesota with the Timberwolves," Shams Charania reported Monday afternoon. "They're outside his preferred list."

"The Phoenix Suns remain in active conversations around the league on a Kevin Durant deal, but their focus the last several days has been on three teams," he added. "The Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves."

Durant, 36, would be a strong fit for all of the teams on his preferred list and several more outside of it — Minnesota included — but without leverage, Phoenix will likely have to settle for a lesser return with a team Durant is comfortable committing to signing an extension with.

Minnesota might want him, but if Durant doesn't want to be there, the Spurs and Rockets suddenly have more leverage than they did before.

His expiring contract ... is going to play a part in this," Charania concluded.

It certainly will.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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