Netflix Series Reveals Raw Kevin Durant Reaction to Suns Trade Rumors

Last season, the Phoenix Suns were fed up with how their current experiment was going. Adding Bradley Beal to a core with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker was great on paper, but it led to a 36-46 record in year two of the trio playing together.

Beal's contract was unmovable, as he had a no-trade clause and a steep salary that no team wanted to take on without Phoenix attaching positive assets.

So, the next step? Try to move the next big contract, as the bulk of the payroll went to Beal, Booker and Durant.

Durant it was.

Moving on from the old superstar made more sense than moving Booker, who has been with the Suns for the entirety of his career.

Phoenix aimed to include Durant in a trade, even taking phone calls after a deal with the Golden State Warriors didn't go through. This, of course, blindsided the 15-time All-Star.

Oct 8, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) dribbles the ball as Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) defends during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Durant's raw reaction to Suns trade rumors revealed in Netflix show

"Starting Five", a Netflix docu-series following five NBA players, including a stacked lineup last season, including Durant, captured a moment while the superstar forward was catching wind of trade rumors.

"I'm hearing real people that I respected, that are credible in this business telling me that this shit is about to go down. So I'm on the phones heavy. No [expletive] way they trying to do this shit behind my back and they ain't say nothing to me. I said, that's [expletive] up," Durant said.

"I know I'm the guy if [expletive] was going south, I'd be the easiest to trade, but don't send me to the Warriors. Make it somewhere else but the Warriors. I didn't want to go back to the storyline and I don't want to go there and gut the whole team. First of all, I don't even want to get traded."

"I'm hearing real people that I respected, that are credible in this business telling me that this shit is about to go down. So I'm on the phones heavy. No fucking way they trying to do this shit behind my back and they ain't say nothing to me. I said, that's fucked up."

Kevin… pic.twitter.com/Y0gHYfoH6d
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 16, 2025

A generational-defining player like Durant isn't usually traded when it's not on his terms. He left the Oklahoma City Thunder on his terms, in free agency. The same was true when he left the Golden State Warriors. He asked for a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, where he then landed with the Suns.

This time, it wasn't Durant's decision. He didn't ask for a trade. Yet they were exploring moving him. He was right to be upset. Mainly because he's, again, a generational talent and will be alongside LeBron James and Stephen Curry when mentioning the 2010s era of the NBA.

Durant didn't want to be traded, but he certainly didn't want to go to the Warriors. He vetoed the trade. Instead, he was able to give a preferred list to the team during the offseason -- after Phoenix missed the postseason -- where he was then dealt to the Rockets.

Players can leave teams when they hit free agency. They can request trades and cause issues within locker rooms if their trade demands aren't met. They have a level of control. As such, a team can trade a player any time (assuming there are no no-trade clauses, which are essentially extinct nowadays). That just doesn't normally happen with generational players, minus the blunder with Luka Doncic last season.