Kevin Durant Believed He Could Easily be Traded to Suns
In this story:
It all could have been so easy.
The Phoenix Suns were listed as one of the top two teams for Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant to be dealt to after submitting his trade request. We've heard all offseason about the various connections Durant has to Phoenix, whether it be his desire to play with Devin Booker or his admiration to be reunited with coach Monty Williams.
Both teams on his preferred list of landing spots (Miami and Phoenix) were also the respective No. 1 seeds for their conferences heading into the postseason, so winning obviously played a role in his future as well.
However, things have fallen silent in not just for Phoenix, but for everybody trying to throw their hat in the ring for Durant. Brooklyn appears more than happy to hold on to their star player (with four years left on his deal) until a team will budge and meet their asking price.
On the "Please Don't Aggregate This" podcast (sorry Jake, we had to), Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer dove into the Durant situation with The Athletic's Jared Weiss and confirmed not only did KD want to move to Phoenix, but he believed he had an easy route to land with the Suns:
Kevin Durant Believed He Could Easily be Traded to Suns
"The one thing, and I also would hesitate to say it's one particular reason, but the one thing I know pretty solid is that regardless of the motivation or whatever, he clearly thought or was under the impression … I don't want to speak directly for him, but Kevin Durant clearly believed there was an easy route for him to get to Phoenix," said Fischer.
"And (he) wanted to play with Devin Booker and Chris Paul. That was definitely a very real component because even from well before it happened there was already kind of rumblings about, 'Oh, if things go really south here, Phoenix would probably be at the top of Kevin's list' … It really started to be Phoenix that week. I remember that Monday before free agency opened, the day of Kyrie (Irving)'s opt-in thing, I was calling around (and) asking people, trying to get ahead of it. Trying to ask people and say 'Well, if Kevin Durant, if the Nets moved KD where would he want to go? Who's actually in line to make a move that would do it?'
"Phoenix came back loud as his top choice. So it seems pretty clear that was at least one of the factors, the Suns just seemed like a dope spot for him."
Weiss, who covers the Boston Celtics, chimed in with a less impressed tone on the Suns' front:
"Whomever did the initial leak, they were making it pretty clear he wanted to go to Phoenix, which I thought was hilarious they were trying to pull that. But at least it made sense, like Phoenix had two really good complimentary players and tons of picks. And I liked the Phoenix proposal because with Phoenix at least it was old Chris Paul, relatively old Kevin Durant, two of the big three there could age out and that franchise could go into a free fall and those later picks could be extremely valuable," said Weiss.
"So I liked the concept, it was a good idea. But what was interesting was I remember hearing pretty early into the negotiation stage that Phoenix was trying to keep Mikal Bridges out of the trade and they wanted to build the trade around Cam Johnson. I thought that was hilarious, I was like what is even the point of even starting negotiations without Mikal Bridges in there. Like that's a joke. And I guess lucky for them at the time, they didn't let it slip through their fingers until the Ayton situation happened with Indiana.
"But I thought that was hilarious that they were trying to build a trade where they were valuing Cam Johnson like he was a centerpiece. That is absurd."
Durant's future is as up in the air as it was when trade rumors first began to leak. Regardless if the Suns are able to add him to their roster, Fischer's words only further confirm Durant's desire in joining Phoenix.
Thank you for making Inside The Suns your destination for Phoenix Suns news. Please be sure to give us a like on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube and follow us on Twitter @InsideTheSunsSI for more news, updates, analysis and more!
Top Phoenix Suns News
Suns Projected to be Top 3 Team in NBA Next Year
Chris Paul Lands Outside Top 5 2022-23 PG Rankings
Should the Suns Sign Jabari Parker?
NBA Executive Believes Nets are Asking Too Much for Kevin Durant
Mikal Bridges Spotted Jamming With College Students
Jalen Brunson Talks Game 7 Blowout Over Suns
