The Kevin Durant Watch: K.D.’s Fantasy Basketball Outlook After He’s Dealt To New York…or Miami…or San Antonio…
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It’s official: He’s got a fast car, and he wants a ticket to anywhere.
The Kevin Durant trade whispers became a shout yesterday, when it was revealed that Durant’s business partner, Rich Kleiman, met with the Phoenix Suns’ brass to, as ESPN described, “…sift through [deal] scenarios.”
Sources told ESPN that the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New York Knicks have made serious inquiries, as have, “[S]everal wild-card suitors.”
With trade rumors come trade suggestions, and they’ve been burning up the interwebs:
- ESPN has Durant going to Minnesota in exchange for Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, and Rob Dillingham.
- In a nutty four-time monster deal, Yahoo sends Durant to New York, with Karl Anthony Towns heading to New Orleans, and a few zillion other players and draft picks heading to points north, south, east, and west.
- And CBS Sports has the Rockets breaking the bank, sending Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Jock Landale, and their 2025 first round draft pick (10) to Phoenix in exchange for the future Hall of Famer.
The most popular projected landing spots are the five mentioned in the third paragraph, which begs the question, how might K.D. perform as either a reality or fantasy option in his potential new digs?
Let’s discuss, in alphabetical order:
Houston Rockets
Reality Outlook: The Rockets are among the deepest teams in the Association, and of the five franchises in question here, they’d be able to best withstand the roster gutting a Durant deal would require.
Alongside Alperen Sengun—who it just so happens is one of the most offensively skilled bigs in the West—Durant wouldn’t necessarily have to be the alpha dog on a nightly basis, a situation in which he thrived as a Golden State Warrior.
Fantasy Outlook: Listen, regardless of where Durant lands, he’ll be a fantasy stud, but any potential deal will determine whether you should draft him in the first, second, or even third round.
If he decamps in H-Town, we’re looking at a mid-second-round pick, as he’ll be in a truly team-oriented situation. So fantasy stud, yes. Fantasy deity, no.
Miami Heat
Reality Outlook: Being that they’d have to give up one of their top bigs to get Durant—Bam Adebayo? Nikola Jovic?—Durant would immediately be The Guy in the Sunshine State…which is all fine and good, but after Durant and Tyler Herro, there’s not much there there.
The current iteration of the Heat has all but plateaued, but acquiring K.D.—and losing a ton of player and draft capital in the process—won’t get them over the Eastern Conference hump.
Fantasy Outlook: If you have Durant in your keeper league, you’re praying for the scoring machine to end up in Florida. He’ll be the tallest guy on the team (rebounds galore) and the unquestioned offensive leader (points galore).
Suddenly, the soon-to-be-37-year-old becomes a must-have fantasy option.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Reality Outlook: If Gobert is moved in a K.D. deal (as expected), and if Naz Reid walks in free agency (also expected), we’re looking at a weird Durant/Julius Randle frontcourt timeshare. Their overlapping skill-sets could lead to a messy paint area, which could have the team taking a small step backwards.
Or maybe a big one.
Fantasy Outlook: Anthony Edwards is a sublime player, but he’s also a sublime ballhog. And in terms of sharing the rock, Randle ain't exactly Bill Russell. More hero ballers on the floor means less touches for Durant, and in Minny, he becomes a second-rounder. Maybe third.
New York Knicks
Reality Outlook: If the Knicks land Durant, Tom Thibodeau might not be super-bummed that he was unceremoniously canned, because it won’t be his job to figure out how to make his team work without, y’know, depth. The Knicks, as constructed, are on a neat championship path. I think welcoming Durant to the Garden ends that journey.
Fantasy Outlook: Welcome to The Jalen & Kevin Spectacular, a show in which the only two top-shelf Knicks still on New York’s payroll (Brunson and Durant) take 57 combined shots a night. Without Thibs making the team play defense, the opportunities will be there.
First round pick, no question.
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-82121a1351894b8089c555f4b4b69420-1d609352940036e7455770363a74a2e9.png "Alan Goldsher")
Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.