Insider Confirms Wolves Tried to Trade for Suns Star

The Minnesota Timberwolves really wanted Kevin Durant next to Anthony Edwards.

Apr 14, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) shares words with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) after fouling him in the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns had all eyes on them during the lead-up to the league's Feb. 6 trade deadline, perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

Simply put, this season has not gone according to plan in the desert after a strong 9-2 start out of the gates.

Since, practically everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong.

The trade deadline gave the Suns an opportunity to re-tool both their roster and draft pick ammo moving forward.

They sort of did so, dumping Jusuf Nurkic to the Charlotte Hornets for Nick Richards and dealing their coveted 2031 first-round pick in favor of three various first-rounders throughout the coming years.

The star foundation of Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker ultimately remained untouched, though Phoenix tried their best to make deals happen otherwise.

More prominently, Durant was involved in a potential deal to head back to the Golden State Warriors before it was shot down by the player himself.

Golden State wasn't the only team who wanted Durant. however.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were reportedly interested in making a move for Durant, and NBA insider Jake Fishcer recently confirmed their intentions on Marc Stein's substack:

"Once those talks ultimately fizzled, thanks largely to Durant’s disinterest in that reunion, Minnesota’s own approach for Durant was serious enough, sources say, that the Timberwolves were calling rival teams over the final few days before the Feb. 6 deadline buzzer sounded.

"The Wolves were working the phones in hopes of finding avenues to get under the NBA’s second luxury tax apron and then be able to aggregate contracts, all with the intent of landing Durant and his $51 million salary this season next to his Olympic running mate Anthony Edwards."

Durant and Anthony Edwards would have been quite the pairing, but would the Suns actually have shipped Durant to a Western Conference rival - specifically the team that swept Phoenix out of the postseason last year?

That seems unlikely, especially with the Suns' previous pursuit of Jimmy Butler only holding hope with Durant heading to Golden State.

It doesn't hurt to try, however.