Reflecting Back on Suns' Bold Move for Kevin Durant
The Phoenix Suns put the basketball world on notice in the very early morning of February 9th when NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowksi reported Kevin Durant was indeed being moved to the Valley, concluding a long saga that began in late June of 2022 with many believing the deal was dead at the time.
The Suns acquired one of the best scorers and players in league history with the move, and it can be argued Durant is the best player to ever be acquired by an Arizona-based team.
We will dive into three separate time frames in this piece- when the trade occurred, after the Suns' season ended, and right now.
When Durant First Landed in Phoenix
There was some hesitation to acquire Kevin Durant considering what it ultimately cost the Phoenix Suns.
As previously mentioned, a potential Durant trade was expected to be revisited in the offseason at best. Not many saw the trade happening midseason and the consummation of the trade left the Valley bittersweet.
One one hand, pairing Durant and Devin Booker together created the league's best duo, giving the Suns a fighter's chance against anyone.
On the other, James Jones gave up a king's ransom to make it happen, including the beloved Mikal Bridges. Championship aspirations were still alive, but it was difficult to envision a team making a move of this magnitude getting it done in such short order.
The fanbase's reception to Durant was exceptionally warm, as thousands showed up to his introductory press conference at Footprint center. The number 35 jersey was the sixth highest selling jersey from the second half of the season. There hadn't been a time this hopeful for the Suns since Charles Barkley was acquired in the summer of 1992.
After Durant's First Season
Pairing Kevin Durant and Devin Booker could be a championship-winning move for the future after the two showed great chemistry together.
The Suns suffered an embarrassing loss in an elimination game for a second straight season, this time to the Denver Nuggets - who eventually became the league champion. Despite the bad loss, Phoenix was the only team that was able to steal more than one game from Denver.
Durant's efficiency was down in the series compared to the regular season, but he still played a huge role nonetheless, putting Phoenix into the position to even potentially force a Game 7 against the Nuggets. The six-game series the Suns forced was also against the unanimous best player in the world (Nikola Jokic) surrounded by an extremely balanced supporting cast, while Durant virtually had Booker and a handful of average role players.
The ugly exit was difficult to process for a few weeks, but the prospect of having Durant and Booker paired together for at least the next three seasons was a silver lining. This is obviously coupled with the revelation that Denver was a clear step ahead of everyone else, and Phoenix would have the offseason to build the team specifically to get by Denver next season.
Projecting Forward
Now more loaded with Bradley Beal in the mix, how will the trio unfold in Phoenix? Durant still projects to be one of the best players in the league.
The outlook for Phoenix going into the season has improved drastically in the last four months. Phoenix acquired Bradley Beal, made great bargain bin signings in free agency and hired a head coach with prior championship experience in Frank Vogel.
The Suns are entering the season with top-three title odds in the NBA, usually only trailing Denver and Boston. The league handed the Durant-lead Suns the third-most national television games as well as a coveted Christmas Day game for the third straight season. Durant and Booker is still the best duo in the NBA.
The forward's defensive ability will hopefully be magnified in Frank Vogel's system. Supporting cast players, namely Yuta Watanabe, will be impeccable fits next to the two superstars.
Even though much was lost and there was an ugly end to last season, optimism that the Durant acquisition will pay off in a massive way is as high as ever.
