One NBA writer proposed that the Golden State Warriors acquire Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns this offseason.
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Warriors and Suns:
The Golden State Warriors acquire Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns for Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and a 2025 first-round pick
Durant averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Suns this season while shooting 52.3% from the field, 41.3% from beyond the arc and 85.6% from the free-throw line. He was seventh in the NBA in points and fifth in points per game.
The Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2024 playoffs after going 49-33 during the regular season. They fired Frank Vogel after one season and hired Mike Budenholzer.
Despite having Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors didn’t make the playoffs this year.
Durant played for Golden State from 2016-17 to 2018-19. KD won two championships and two Finals MVPs before leaving for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
Durant will make $49.9 million next season and $53.3 million in 2025-26.
Since leaving the Warriors, Durant has won just two playoff series. He’s been swept twice in the first round of the postseason.
“The Suns will push for an additional 2027 first-round pick, the only other one the Warriors can include, assuming this deal goes down on draft night,” Hughes wrote. “Meanwhile, the Dubs will try to swap in someone like Brandin Podziemski for Kuminga, whom the organization has labeled untouchable.
“In addition to those negotiating sticking points, Golden State is still taking on about $3 million more in salary than is allowed—and that’s assuming it doesn’t include Kevon Looney‘s non-guaranteed $8 million salary for 2024-25.
“Put all those hangups aside and consider, though, that the Warriors are one of very few teams more tied to an immediate win-now timeline than the Suns. Curry has two more years on his deal, and it seems clear the organization is committed to surrounding him with a competitive team. Durant will turn 36 before next season starts and comes with health risks, but he’s probably the more valuable short-term contributor than Kuminga, Wiggins or Moody.
“Would Phoenix admit its mistake in trading for KD so soon? Probably not. But that doesn’t change reality: The Suns are extremely expensive, inflexible and in for a long stretch of ugly seasons if and when their three max players decline or break up. A Durant trade is the only way to soften the landing over the latter half of this decade. It’d replenish the team’s stock of young players, picks and depth.”
One of the greatest scorers in NBA history, Durant averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 208 games with the Warriors.
“Phoenix gets to go into 2024-25 with two max-level stars (Devin Booker and Bradley Beal) and three new combo forwards in its rotation,” Hughes wrote. “The roster suddenly makes much more sense, and Kuminga’s upside provides some down-the-road optimism. Meanwhile, the Warriors lean all the way into the ‘last ride’ narrative by bringing KD back to function as a savior rather than the bandwagon-hopping free-agent acquisition he was in 2016.”
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