Suns Shouldn't Regret Kevin Durant Trade

Kevin Durant is one of the greatest small forwards of all-time, so the Phoenix Suns shouldn't regret pushing all their chips in to trade for him.

Phoenix Suns injured forward Kevin Durant against the Orlando Magic | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It's only been a few weeks since the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.

Though Durant was with the Suns for two years, his time in Phoenix felt like a blink of an eye, especially after the final two seasons ended without a playoff victory.

HoopsHype contributor Frank Urbina ranked the top 20 small forwards of all-time and Durant came in at No. 3 on the list.

"Scoring comes so easy for him that it’s almost ridiculous, as Kevin Durant is a 7-footer with ballhandling, quickness and a pristine jumper that he can hit from legitimately anywhere on the floor. Durant’s also an impactful defender when he needs to be, moving his feet quickly and blocking shots at pivotal moments. Durant may still move up a few spots in the rankings, but will not be in contention for the top spots due to missed time because of injury," Urbina wrote.

"He will have to settle with being the greatest player in Olympic basketball history, the only one with four gold medals and the lone star with MVPs in the NBA, Olympics and World Cup."

Only Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird and the NBA's all-time leading scorer LeBron James were ranked higher on this list, proving that the Suns may not have realized how good they could have had it with Durant.

The Suns pushed all their chips in on Durant in 2023 when they acquired him in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, sending Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and several unprotected first-round picks to the east coast.

While the trade didn't work as well as it did in theory, the Suns knew they were trying to compete for a championship with Durant. It was a big swing and miss for Phoenix, but it's better than watching strike three go by.