Kevin Durant Gets Honest on Suns' Roster Build

PHOENIX -- Recent developments in the world of the Phoenix Suns haven't been all that encouraging - and there has been much talk surrounding whether the franchise should continue to push towards contention or go the complete opposite direction - back into another rebuild.

The Suns have completely reshaped operations ever since Mat Ishbia became governor of the franchise nearly two years ago - with the team boasting one of the highest salary totals in NBA history while also being restricted by the newly formed second apron that was included in the new CBA for the league.

Ishbia has previously been adamant that he will always be committed to spending as much money as necessary to compete for championships - but the last 12 months have rendered that strategy potentially unsustainable moving forward.

There's at least one member of the Suns - one with expansive influence at that - that remains positive despite much potential drama and turmoil that is set to follow the franchise for the rest of the season.

Kevin Durant's post-practice talk with media was chronicled by Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic - and much of the talk centered around how the future hall of fame talent is currently feeling about the situation in Phoenix - a team that has reeled over the last two months and now sit at 17-19.

"Sometimes you've got to try and see to try to figure out where you want to go. Sometimes it might always work out the way you set it up or how you envision. Trying is better than not doing nothing at all," said Durant.

"I appreciate people that want to put in the work to try to get on that road to a championship level. It's hard. As we've seen, it's tough, but just putting yourself in a position to try to do something. A lot people don't even try to do stuff out here to be great."

Durant is clearly quite understanding of the situation - as Ishbia's all-in approach signifies a willingness to take the extra mile to build a winning franchise - which was a sticking point in his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2026.

The Suns are certainly going through growing pains, but the potential to become a model wouldn't have been possible under the previous ownership group.

“So I can appreciate somebody like Mat and the staff and the whole organization trying to put the players in successful positions to see what it’s like to go on the road to a championship. Not a lot of franchises do that for their players," Durant continued.

Many franchises look to spend as little money as possible - and high-spending franchises such as the Los Angeles Clippers even maneuvered to avoid more tax penalties coupled with the extraordinarily restrictive second apron.

Suns fans can criticize Ishbia, James Jones, and anyone else to no end - that doesn't change two simple truths - that hindsight is 20/20, and that the image transformation that Phoenix has gone through over the last two years will very likely work in their favor in the long run.

Phoenix will look to move to 18-19 on the season this afternoon against the Utah Jazz.