NBA Trade Proposal Sends Kevin Durant Back To Thunder In Offseason

One NBA analyst proposed that the Oklahoma City Thunder trade for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant this offseason. 

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Thunder and Suns:

Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort, Ousmane Dieng and whatever pick haul it’d take to beat everyone else’s offer

The Suns are expected to trade Durant this summer. Durant began his career with the Thunder. 

“It probably seems a little silly to break up a team that just won 68 games and set a new record for average point differential,” Bailey wrote. “But if the Oklahoma City Thunder follow up that historic campaign by flaming out early in the playoffs, a reunion with KD would be awfully enticing. Durant’s obviously not the defender Luguentz Dort is, but having him as a second option alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and all of the Thunder’s shooters would make them borderline unstoppable.

“And while Isaiah Hartenstein has undoubtedly been a plus in his first season in OKC, his contract almost seems tailor-made for a trade. The Thunder have two capable centers in Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams who should be able to survive without Hartenstein, too.”

Durant averaged 27.4 points in 641 games with the Thunder. He won the 2014 MVP Award and led the franchise to the 2012 NBA Finals, where OKC lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat. 

A future Hall of Famer, Durant became the biggest villain in Oklahoma City after leaving the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016. Durant won two championships and two Finals MVPs with the Warriors. 

Durant will make $54.7 million next season in the final year of his contract. He turns 37 in September.

One of the best players in NBA history, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Suns this season while shooting 52.7% from the field, 43.0% from beyond the arc and 83.9% from the free-throw line.

Durant has career averages of 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists with the Thunder, Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns.