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Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Clippers, Harden, Simmons

February 12th, 2025 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

Facing Memphis on Tuesday, Suns forward Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to surpass the 30,000-point threshold over the course of his career. He entered the game with 26 points to go and accomplished the feat late in the third quarter, finishing the night with 34 points.

Durant joined LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain in the exclusive 30,000-point club.

“A true honor to be in the same category as those players who helped shaped the game and push the game forward,” he said after the game, a loss that dropped the Suns below .500 (link via ESPN.com). “That’s always been my goal, to get the most out of myself every day and the most out of my career.”

Nowitzki, who ranks sixth on the league’s all-time scoring list with 31,560 points, told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he’s fully expecting Durant to bump him down to seventh sooner or later.

“He’s 36 now…and he’s got, what, 1,500 more (points) to go,” Nowitzki said. “That’s obviously a season for him and he looks great, he moves great. I still see him on the perimeter crossing guys over, he’s got that slow cross, going to the basket. He doesn’t seem like he’s lost a step. I think he’s going to play at least a couple more years. I do think he’s going to catch me, but well deserved. Like I said, to me, he’s one of the purest scorers of all time.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Ranking all 30 NBA teams based on their moves at the trade deadline, John Hollinger of The Athletic places the Lakers atop his list due to their acquisition of Luka Doncic. After trading for Doncic, there was “literally no other move” the Lakers could have made on Thursday that would have moved them out of the top spot, Hollinger writes. That includes their decision to rescind a deal for Mark Williams, which Hollinger actually views as a “dodged bullet,” since he thinks there could be more appealing targets on the trade market for L.A. this summer.
  • Hollinger also places the Clippers at No. 3 on his trade deadline rankings and lauds them for their work last week, which included moving off bad contracts, getting out of the luxury tax, and coming out ahead in terms of draft picks.
  • James Harden‘s numbers in 2024/25, including 21.3 points per game on 39.5% shooting, are the worst of any of his All-Star seasons, but the impact his leadership has had on the Clippers has made it a special season for the former MVP, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. “The way he’s leading us this year, on and off the court, the way he’s setting everyone up, it’s incredible,” center Ivica Zubac said. “One of the best teammates ever. I think every player in the league would love to play with him.”
  • Ben Simmons, signed by the Clippers off the buyout market, is looking forward to a fresh start, telling reporters on Tuesday that he feels “wanted” in Los Angeles, according to Anthony De Leon of The L.A. Times. “I just want to compete, regardless of all the bulls–t said online,” Simmons said, noting that the Clippers view him as a point guard, which is his preferred position. “I’m here to do that, and playing alongside some of these great players … Everyone’s just going to push each other to be better and expect greatness.”
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Kevin Durant Admits He Was ‘Blindsided’ By Trade Rumors

February 10th, 2025 at 10:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns forward Kevin Durant admitted he was “blindsided” that his name came up in trade talks prior to last week’s deadline, according to Doug Haller of The Athletic.

However, he took the news diplomatically.

“Everybody’s bought and sold in this league,’’ Durant said. “Anybody can be up for auction. I understand that.”

Durant’s name surfaced in trade rumors after negotiations between the Heat and Suns regarding a potential Jimmy Butler deal stalled, mainly due to Miami’s unwillingness to take on Bradley Beal‘s contract. Butler ultimately landed with Golden State, while Durant and Beal stayed put. Durant reportedly balked at the idea of a second stint with the Warriors.

Durant tried to put a positive step on the process.

“It’s not a bad thing that people around the league want me to play for them,” Durant said, according to The Associated Press. “It’s not a bad thing my organization here is fighting off people to keep me on the team or even dangle me in a trade. It’s part of being in high demand.”

Phoenix reportedly might explore the possibility of moving Durant during this offseason. The Suns and Durant could also explore a two-year veteran extension. Durant is earning $51.2MM in 2024/25, followed by $54.7MM in ’25/26.

Durant is now concerned that the focus on him will intensify the remainder of the season, due to the trade rumors and speculation about what will happen this summer.

“I always had a goal of just playing my contract out and seeing what happens,’’ Durant said. per Haller. “I can’t focus on a year-and-a-half down the line. I know that will be a topic. That’s probably the most frustrating part about being in trade talks is that the microscope is going to be on solely just me the rest of the season. My body language. How I speak to (news reporters) after the game. How I’m looking on the bench. That stuff will be magnified, which sucks.”

Durant also addressed a report by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that described the team’s locker room as toxic.

“I think it’s unfair and lazy to categorize our team as toxic when you come in there for five minutes throughout four months,” Durant said, per a Yahoo Sports tweet.

Durant hasn’t played since last Monday due to an ankle injury but is expected to return for Phoenix’s home game on Tuesday night against Memphis. He is 26 points from becoming the eighth NBA player to reach 30,000 career points.

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Suns Notes: Jones, Durant, Beal, Locker Room

February 8th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Addressing the media prior to Friday’s game, general manager James Jones didn’t seem worried that Kevin Durant will react negatively to finding out that the Suns considered trade offers for him before Thursday’s deadline, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Jones doesn’t believe Durant will let the trade speculation become a distraction as the team fights to secure a playoff spot.

“Kevin has been around the noise his entire career,” Jones said. “He’s a pro. He’s the best at it. It gets noisy when you’re not winning. The simple fact is we haven’t won enough and if we’re not winning enough, the storylines pop up, but we’re talking about basketball and he’s always shown and will continue to show, and I think this team will continue to show, that despite the things outside of our walls, we’ll focus on the task at hand and focus on ball.”

Durant sat out Friday’s game with a sprained left ankle and didn’t talk to the media, as the NBA’s policy doesn’t require injured players to do interviews. Jones refused to comment on a rumored deal with Golden State that was reportedly nixed when Durant said he didn’t want to return to the Warriors. Jones was also asked if he needs to smooth things over with his star player after trade talks collapsed.

“It’s ongoing dialogue with the team, but when you get to the trade deadline, every team has these moments of frustration, these moments of uncertainty,” Jones responded. “You talk about that early in the season, going into the preseason. You talk about that going into the trade deadline. You talk about it going into the playoffs. It’s an ongoing conversation. It’s not just something that you respond to at these type of pivotal moments. It’s a daily conversation about how you continue to stay focused on the task at hand, which is playing basketball at a high level and winning basketball games.”

Rankin points out that Durant passed on a chance to sign a one-year, $59.5MM extension before the start of the season, which makes him eligible for a two-year, $123.8MM extension this summer. There’s now less certainty that he’ll accept that extension if he’s unhappy about having been on the trade market.

There’s more from Phoenix:

  • Bradley Beal is ready to move forward with the season now that the deadline has passed, Rankin adds in a separate story. Some fans are angry at Beal because he wasn’t willing to waive his no-trade clause to help the team land Jimmy Butler, but Royce O’Neale doesn’t believe they should be. “What are they going to be mad for?” O’Neale said. “We love Brad. He’s sacrificed a lot for this team, whether he’s starting, coming off the bench. His mentality, his character hasn’t changed. He does whatever it takes for us to win. Credit to him everything that he’s been through, everything that his family has heard.”
  • Suns players are disputing a claim by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that their locker room is “toxic” due to the Durant situation. “The locker room has been good all year long. It hasn’t changed at all either, so I don’t know where that came from,” said Grayson Allen (Twitter video link from Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). O’Neale echoed the same sentiment, saying, “I feel like they be making up some stuff sometimes. I seen that, I was like, I don’t know what they talkin’ ‘bout.” (Twitter video link)
  • Coach Mike Budenholzer provided updates on Durant, Beal and Allen, who all missed tonight’s game due to injuries (Twitter video link from Bourguet). Budenholzer said Durant’s ankle issue is “probably very short-term” and expressed hope that the two days off will help him heal. Beal has toe soreness in his left foot, and Allen is experiencing pain in his right knee. Budenholzer considers them both to be day to day.
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Warriors Execs, Players Address Jimmy Butler Acquisition

February 8th, 2025 at 8:13am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Warriors made a bold move at the deadline in acquiring six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, consolidating four players to bring him in and change the makeup of the roster. In a media session ahead of Golden State’s game in Los Angeles on Thursday, members of the Warriors and Butler himself discussed the move.

“I’ve always loved him,” owner Joe Lacob told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “I love Draymond [Green]. So we’re dealing with something similar. Incredible competitiveness. My kind of guy.”

The Suns were considered the top suitor for Butler for weeks, with reports repeatedly citing strong mutual interest between the two sides. Phoenix was considered to be the team most willing to pay Butler the maximum-salary extension he sought, and the star forward liked the idea of a future playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

However, Bradley Beal‘s contract – which includes a no-trade clause – proved too difficult to move and thus, Butler wound up in Golden State and Durant stayed put in Phoenix.

“[Butler] was trying to get where he thought he wanted to go,” Lacob said. “He just happened to be thinking incorrectly at the time. That’s now been amended.”

Given their reported desire to make a change to the roster, the Suns even engaged in talks about the idea of a trade that would have sent Durant either Golden State or Miami. However, Durant was uninterested in a reunion with Golden State, which prompted the Warriors to pivot to pursuing Butler.

Green, who played with Durant from 2016-19, downplayed Durant’s reported unwillingness to reunite forces, according to Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina. “Didn’t affect my life one bit,” Green said.

“When you walk on the court and you look on the other end and you see guys that you respect, half the battle is fought,” Green said of the Warriors trading for Butler. “And with Jimmy, that’s half the battle. So that’s going to be fun because we can compete at the highest level.”

Warriors players, including Green, seemed grateful that Golden State’s front office made a move that makes them more competitive this year after the team slid out of the playoff field over the course of the last couple months. Tied with the Kings but sitting in 11th, the Warriors have the final two months of the season to climb into the postseason.

“We’re going in a direction,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. “We have three kind-of-older generational players. But the beauty of the whole thing to me is we’ve got a lot of good complementary pieces. We’ve got assets, we’ve got young players. So in some ways in terms of our financial stuff, there’s a commitment. But on the whole, we’ll have a lot of flexibility.”

The Warriors explored other moves leading up to the deadline, according to Slater, but they value what veterans on expiring contracts like Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II bring to the locker room.

The rest of the Warriors’ season will also be about replenishing their roster after they were left with four open spots on their 15-man roster. They filled one of those by converting center Quinten Post to a standard deal and Santa Cruz Warrior Kevin Knox could be another consideration, per Slater.

Dunleavy and Lacob both applauded one another for their willingness to be aggressive. This move allowed them to add a star player without sacrificing the likes of Brandin Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga. According to Slater, the Warriors will be able to reassess in the summer and still be in position to make another big move at that point if they see fit.

As for Butler, he expressed excitement about having the chance to play alongside the best shooter in the world in Stephen Curry, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. He’s hoping to make his Warriors debut on Saturday against the Bulls.

“I got a feeling I’m [going to] be back, in a big way, too,” he said. “So I’m smiling. I’ve been going at it, I’ve been training, I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. I know that I have my joy back now. I’m in a different situation, different group of guys.”

Butler himself was a big winner of the deadline, finding a team willing to pay him big money in a CBA landscape that makes teams have to be more conscious with how they allocate their finances. He and his new team reportedly agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension projected to be worth $111MM.

“I’m not going to say that was a big part,” Butler said of his contract playing into his exit from Miami and the new one he received from Golden State. “But I’m happy about it. I am happy about it. I think the biggest part was getting me to be able to play basketball again. I just want to be able to go out there and do what I’ve been doing for a very long time. And have fun, smile, rip and run and not feel like I’m just doing cardio majority of the game. So I’m very, very, very happy that I’m not getting suspended no more.”

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More On Kevin Durant: Curry Convo, Warriors/Heat Trade Talks

February 7th, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors and Suns began “secretly” talking about the possibility of a Kevin Durant trade early last week, according to Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who say that the star forward and his longtime manager and agent Rich Kleiman didn’t learn about those discussions until the two teams played one another last Friday.

By Saturday, the two teams were far enough along in negotiations that Durant and Stephen Curry touched base to talk about the idea. Shelburne and Windhorst hear from sources that Durant told Curry a reunion with the Warriors “didn’t feel right” and that this “wasn’t the time” for them to team up again.

While the Warriors were discouraged by Durant’s stance, they didn’t give up on making a deal at that point, hoping that Durant might change his tune once he learned how far down the road Phoenix had gotten in those discussions without informing him, per ESPN.

The Suns have internally conceded that it was a mistake not to loop Durant into the process earlier, Shelburne and Windhorst say. The former MVP has been described as “blindsided” by being so heavily involved in trade rumors this week after having expressed a desire to stay in Phoenix.

“We should’ve gone through (Kleiman),” a team source told ESPN.

As Shams Charania reported earlier today, the Warriors, Suns, and Heat discussed a potential multi-team trade that would’ve sent both Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga to Phoenix, with Durant going to Golden State. Shelburne and Windhorst provide more details on those conversations, reporting that the Wizards were involved as well, as we speculated on Wednesday.

The four teams were negotiating a trade that would have looked like this, according to ESPN:

  • Durant to Golden State.
  • Butler, Kuminga, Jonas Valanciunas, two first-round picks (from the Warriors), two second-round picks (one each from Miami and Golden State), and pick swaps to Phoenix.
  • Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson, and the Cavaliers’ 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix) to Miami.

There are some missing details there — among them, Jusuf Nurkic would’ve been involved and would’ve gone to the Wizards, who presumably would’ve sought at least a first-rounder from the Suns as a sweetener to take on that contract.

While it sounds like there was some momentum in those negotiations, the Heat ultimately weren’t sold on the deal. They sought the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick rather than Cleveland’s, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that Golden State also had some reservations about the Suns’ steep asking price for Durant.

With Durant standing firm on his stance that he had no desire to go to Golden State, the talks fell apart.

After those discussions ended, there was a window for the Heat to potentially acquire Durant in a trade that would send Butler to Phoenix. Durant would have been more open to playing in Miami than Golden State, sources tell ESPN, and the Suns and Heat traded “visions” of what a deal might look like, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

However, the Suns were seeking a massive haul for Durant that included “a combination of talented young players and draft picks,” Jackson writes. According to both ESPN and the Herald, the Heat considered the price too steep and backed out, pivoting to a Butler deal with the Warriors that cut out Phoenix altogether.

The Suns were “deflated” by the outcome, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that there were several times during the weeks leading up to Thursday’s deadline that Phoenix thought there might be a path to a Butler deal involving Bradley Beal.

However, sources tell ESPN that the Hawks and Wizards were believed to be the only teams considering taking on Beal, and it’s unclear whether he would’ve waived his no-trade clause for either team. The Suns reportedly never got close enough to a deal to approach Beal about it, eventually pivoting to exploring a Durant scenario without first informing the star forward.

As Windhorst noted on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, we’ll find out this coming summer whether those Suns trade talks involving Durant will sour him on the idea of remaining in Phoenix beyond this season.

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Details On Warriors’ Pursuit Of Kevin Durant

February 7th, 2025 at 3:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of ESPN provided some interesting details on the Warriors‘ “aggressive” pursuit of Suns star Kevin Durant, which included several different offers.

According to Charania, one three-team framework involving the Heat would have seen Phoenix acquire Jimmy Butler from Miami, plus Jonathan Kuminga, first-round picks, second-round picks and pick swaps from Golden State. However, once Durant made it clear that he wasn’t interested in returning to the Warriors, they instead pivoted and acquired Butler themselves.

The Heat had an opportunity to acquire Durant as well, Charania reports, but the Suns declined their offer of Butler and Josh Richardson.

Charania confirms the Timberwolves were among the teams who made offers for Durant after Golden State’s failed pursuit. ESPN’s Bob Myers said yesterday that the Grizzlies were in that group as well, though Durant also wasn’t interested in playing in Memphis.

Speaking to reporters today, including Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial appeal (Twitter link), Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said none of the stars that the team made offers for were moved prior to Thursday’s deadline. Kleiman also said Memphis wasn’t in on the Butler sweepstakes, Cole adds (via Twitter).

“I’m not sure why we were pulled into that in the first place,” Kleiman said.

Charania once again reiterated that Durant did not expect nor want his name to be involved in trade rumors this season. Plugged-in local reporter John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported on Thursday that Phoenix would likely revisit Durant trade talks this summer, while ESPN’s Brian Windhorst speculated on his podcast that Durant may be seeking a new destination this offseason.

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Suns Rumors: Durant, Booker, Deadline, Buyout Market, More

February 7th, 2025 at 9:58am CST by Rory Maher

Several teams reportedly made “last-ditch efforts” to trade for Suns star Kevin Durant after a deal with the Warriors fell through when the former league MVP made it clear he wasn’t interested in returning to Golden State. Phoenix and Miami also reportedly discussed swapping Durant and Jimmy Butler before the Heat wound up trading the disgruntled star to the Warriors.

Where does that leave Durant’s future with the Suns? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst discussed that topic on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, suggesting that Durant could be the one seeking an exit this summer after being caught off guard by seeing his name pop up in rumors.

“The prevailing thing from the trade deadline day was what didn’t happen, which was Kevin Durant stayed put,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “He was not happy he was put into trade talks.

“I think it’s unpredictable what will happen for the next few months because it’s the nature of the sport, but I think right now it is reasonable to forecast that Durant will be breaking up with the Suns in the summer. He didn’t break up with them today, but it doesn’t look good for the long-term forecast because he was really frustrated.

“I spent a long time today on the phone with people involved with this situation. People from Miami. People from Golden State. People from Phoenix. Other people. I would just say that the biggest thing Kevin Durant was upset about, I think, not knowing he was involved in trade talks. … Generically, a star player of his level likes to be involved in trade talks. That was an issue. The thing about it was the Suns ended up not getting anything (besides a salary-dump trade).”

For what it’s worth, a Suns source who spoke to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports pushed back on how available Durant really was on the trade market, even though multiple other sources confirmed to Bourguet that the Warriors deal was very close to being finalized.

Here’s more on the Suns:

  • After his ESPN colleagues Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon advocated for Phoenix to trade Devin Booker to fully remake the roster in the summer, Windhorst said the four-time All-Star has a strong desire to remain with the Suns. “I have to say, I don’t think they’re going to trade Devin Booker,” Windhorst said. “Devin Booker wants to be there. … Devin Booker wants to be there his whole career.”
  • Doug Haller of The Athletic examines Phoenix’s trade deadline and path forward, writing that a Durant trade and roster reconstruction seem all but inevitable after the current group has failed to meet expectations.
  • According to Bourguet, the Suns aren’t enthusiastic about any of their current options on the buyout market (Twitter link). Phoenix is unable to sign any buyout candidate who earns more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception because the team is over the second tax apron.
  • On the same Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst, Bontemps and MacMahon all expressed surprise that Phoenix traded its unprotected 2031 first-round pick to Utah for three lower-value first-rounders without having a specific move lined up afterward. In a full story for ESPN.com (Insider link), a Western Conference scout told Bontemps he was just as confused by that trade. “The Phoenix piece is just fascinating,” the scout said. “They made that trade with the draft pick and didn’t have anything [ready] to do with it?“
  • Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne described the Suns’ locker room as “toxic” and said Wednesday’s shootaround in Oklahoma City was “very awkward, very weird” as players were unsure who would still be around past the deadline.
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NBA Announces 2025 All-Star Game Rosters

February 6th, 2025 at 6:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The 24 players selected for the 2025 All-Star Game were drafted on a Thursday pre-game TNT show by coaches Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, and later announced by the NBA (Twitter link).

The players were previously sorted into groups of starters and reserves, but that had no bearing on their team placement for the new mini-tournament in this year’s game.

Below are each team’s selections, sorted in order of pick:

Team Shaq

O’Neal had the first overall pick in the televised draft, selecting James, who holds the record for most All-Star appearances in a career. For the most part, O’Neal opted for the “old guard” of the NBA, so to speak. His team has a whopping 87 All-Star appearances (including this year) among its eight players.

The roster also unites a handful of players. Durant spent this week in trade rumors, with reports indicating he didn’t want to be traded to Curry’s Warriors. The two players were teammates for three seasons. This also will mark the first time James and Davis will play together since the blockbuster move that brought Doncic to L.A. Additionally, Curry, James, Durant, Tatum and Davis all played together on the 2024 U.S. men’s Olympic Team.

Team Kenny

In contrast to O’Neal’s roster, Smith opted for some of the younger stars across the league. Smith’s team has a combined 13 All-Star nods to their name — Williams, Mobley, Cunningham and Herro are all first-timers. Smith united a pair of Cavaliers, with Mobley and Garland joining forces.

Team Chuck

Barkley went for a mix of experience in his group. He secured the top three expected players in the MVP race this season between Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander. He also landed Wembanyama with the 12th overall pick. Barkley’s group has a combined 35 All-Star honors, with Sengun and Wembanyama as first-time All-Stars and Antetkounmpo (nine) and Jokic (seven) leading the way.

A fourth team coached by Candace Parker will play in the tournament. She’ll be coaching whichever team wins this year’s Rising Stars Challenge — those rosters were announced earlier this week. Two teams will meet in a semifinal (game one) while the other two also play each other (game two). The winning team from each game moves on to the final round.

The four teams participating in the NBA All-Star Game will compete for a prize pool of $1.8 million. Each player on the team that wins the final will receive $125,000, while members of the second-place team earn $50,000. Players on the third- and fourth-place teams will receive $25,000.

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Wolves Were Among Teams To Inquire On Kevin Durant

February 6th, 2025 at 5:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves made a “last-ditch effort” near Thursday’s trade deadline to engage the Suns in trade talks about Kevin Durant, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), who says that effort didn’t go anywhere.

The Warriors pursued Durant earlier this week, but backed off when it became clear that he had no interest in returning to Golden State. Shams Charania of ESPN reported earlier on Thursday that teams continued to “aggressively” call Phoenix about Durant after the Warriors ended their pursuit, but the Suns were said to be seeking a massive return and opted to hang onto Durant for at least the rest of the season.

As Chris Hine of The Star Tribune notes (via Twitter), Durant and Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards established a close bond as members of Team USA at the Olympics last summer, so it makes sense that Minnesota would look into what it would take to acquire the former MVP.

However, any deal involving the Suns and Timberwolves would’ve been extremely complicated, since those two clubs have the highest and second-highest payrolls in the NBA, respectively, and faced tax apron restrictions.

No player on Minnesota’s roster earns as much as Durant’s $51.2MM salary, so the Wolves would’ve needed to aggregate several contracts in order to both match KD’s cap hit and get below the second apron in the process (they were over that threshold by more than $16MM). The Suns also weren’t permitted to take back more salary than they sent out, so at least one more team – and likely more than that – would’ve been necessarily as facilitators.

Although it was essentially a pipe dream to think that the Wolves might acquire Durant today, the fact that Minnesota even made the call is a reflection of just how widespread the interest in the 36-year-old was. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that half the league inquired.

Durant will be remaining in Phoenix for the next several months, but the Suns are expected to perform a “full evaluation” of their roster in the summer if they don’t have the sort of second half they’re hoping for. Durant will only have one year left on his contract at that point, so the Suns could revisit trade talks this offseason, especially if the veteran is reluctant to sign an extension.

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Suns To Revisit Kevin Durant Trade Talks In Summer?

February 6th, 2025 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Despite not having a no-trade clause, Suns star Kevin Durant essentially nixed a trade to the Warriors, but that didn’t prevent “several more teams” from inquiring about the 36-year-old ahead of today’s deadline, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on SportsCenter (Twitter video link).

Charania reiterates that Durant was caught off guard by seeing his name pop up in rumors and did not request to be traded. Durant will remain with the Suns for at least the rest of the 2024/25 season, but his future with the organization might be tenuous.

The Suns have the highest payroll in the NBA. However, they are currently just 25-25, clinging to the No. 10 seed in the West due to a tiebreaker with Golden State, which has an identical record (No. 9 Sacramento is also 25-25). If Phoenix is unable to turn its season around, Charania says the Suns will do a “full evaluation” of their roster.

Plugged-in local reporter John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 states (via Twitter) that Phoenix wouldn’t move Durant unless it receives a combination of draft assets and young players in return. Gambadoro expects the Suns to field more inquiries on the 11-time All-NBA forward this summer.

Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link), former Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers, who now works for ESPN, said the Grizzlies were among the teams pursuing Durant. However, the two-time NBA Finals MVP didn’t want to play in Memphis, according to Myers.

Durant is earning $51.2MM in 2024/25, followed by $54.7MM in ’25/26. He’ll be eligible for a veteran extension when the ’25/26 league year begins on July 1.

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