Kevin Durant Gets Honest On What Led to Trade from Suns

Kevin Durant detailed the months-long process that led to him being dealt to the Rockets.

Mar 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) looks on during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Kevin Durant - Phoenix Suns saga went on for several months before Durant was eventually traded away to the Houston Rockets.

It all started when Durant's name was leaked to be in trade conversations with the Golden State Warriors ahead of last season's trade deadline, making it known that the Suns were willing to trade him.

The Suns' 36-46 finish to the 2024-25 season made it pretty much inevitable the future Hall of Famer would be traded during the offseason.

Even after the year ended, there were two full months of rumors before Phoenix agreed to trade Durant to Houston for a package that eventually included Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and three draft picks in this summer's draft on the morning of Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Kevin Durant Explains Process That Led to Trade from Suns

Durant recently discussed the whole situation from his vantage point on CNBC's Game Plan panel.

"I would say around February, the Suns had pretty much let the league know that I was on the market," Durant said. "Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns. And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that's just the name of the game.

"So I got over that quickly and was trying to figure out what the next steps were. I heard Golden State was in the mix around the trade deadline, but that's when (Durant's agent and business partner) Rich (Kleiman) came into play and those relationships that we built around the league and also playing in Golden State helped. We was able to tell them kind of hold off on that.

"Since me being on the market in February when there's also a trade deadline, people were just kind of seeing how their seasons played out and what they needed for their teams. And we knew we would revisit that right around the summertime, and Houston kind of jumped on, and it happened pretty fast from there."

Kevin Durant on the rockets trading for him and finding out the suns were trying to trade him at the deadline 👀 #LiftOff pic.twitter.com/e5y0uf7ulM

— KNAWTNINE (@knawtnine) September 17, 2025

The Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat were Durant's three preferred destinations in the offseason, and it ultimately came down to Houston and Miami, but the Suns liked the Rockets' offer much better.

Durant now arrives in a great situation in Houston after the Rockets were just the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference last season and boast a lot of young talent including Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. among others.

The Suns will welcome Durant back to Phoenix on Nov. 24 in the first matchup between the Suns and Rockets since the trade.