The Phoenix Suns must decide whether it’s worth it to keep Kevin Durant after the season they had. If they believe that they’d be better off selling off Durant when they have the chance, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposed a trade that would send them more rotation players.
Buckley proposed the following trade between the Suns and Golden State Warriors in a May 7 story. For additional context, this proposed trade would be contingent on the Warriors winning the 2024 NBA Lottery.
Suns get: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Two first-round picks, 2024 No. 1 overall pick
Warriors get: Durant
Buckley went into further detail as to why the Warriors would do that trade. He explained what the Suns would do in this hypothetical trade scenario.
“Now, the Suns may still decide this is not enough for the 16-time All-Star, but the Warriors can expand this offer with more prospects and/or pick swaps if needed.”
The prospect of trading Durant to a division rival may not appeal to the Suns, especially since Durant had his most success with Golden State. However, the Warriors offer plenty of young talent that would allow the Suns to regroup after their latest experiment failed.
Wiggins would also be a tough pill to swallow, as he will enter the third year of a five-year, $109 million contract. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, while Kuminga and Moody were the respective No. 7 and No. 14 picks in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Zach Lowe Pushes Kevin Durant Trade to Warriors
This has not been the first time a Kevin Durant-Warriors reunion has been floated since the Suns’ season ended. ESPN’s Zach Lowe floated the same idea before Buckley did.
“KD reunited with the Warriors,” Lowe said on his podcast “The Lowe Post” on April 29. “All the young guys, salary fillers. It’s gonna be [Jonathan] Kuminga and all the other [young] guys you don’t want to trade. It’s Kevin Durant, so you’ll probably trade those guys.”
His guest, Bobby Marks, explained what else the Warriors would have to send to the Suns.
“It should be Wiggins as your placeholder,” Marks said. “That’s your big number, right? Then it’s gonna be a combination of Kuminga, [Brandin] Podziemski, and [Moses] Moody and whatever you have.”
If the Suns shop Durant, they must consider what the best deal for him would be. At his age, Durant may not fetch as big a return as he once did, but he would still bring in quite a few assets should the Suns pull the trigger.
Insider Believes Suns Will Keep Kevin Durant & Others
Despite the Suns’ failure to live up to expectations, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says that they intend to keep Durant as well as Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
“Do people in the league say that?” Windhorst on the May 6 episode of The Rich Eisen Show, transcribed by RealGM. “Yes, they do. I talk to multiple people who think that’s what they’re going to have to do that. Do the Suns say that? No, they do not.
“I think the Suns’ intention is to keep all three of these star players. Tweak the roster, tweak some of their systems and processes and try to be better next year.”
If Windhorst’s words are true, the Suns also have to think about the limited window they have with Durant.
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Proposed Trade Sends Suns 3 Former Lottery Picks for Kevin Durant