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When the Phoenix Suns acquired Kevin Durant, it felt like a dream come true for a franchise that had been chasing and ultimately failing to lure a superstar to the desert. Now that the honeymoon is over, the Durant trade rumors are flying again and some are suggesting it might be time to cut the cord.
Brian Windhorst floated an idea on ESPN’s “First Take” saying that the Houston Rockets could send 21-year-old center Alperen Sengun to the Suns along with a haul of future draft picks in return for Durant. Stephen A Smith jumped in, adding that while Phoenix wants to trade Durant, the Rockets are more interested in Devin Booker.
Trading Durant Isn’t Quitting, It’s Letting Go
Sometimes things just don’t work out. The Durant-Booker-Bradley Beal trio was good in 2023-24, but didn’t provide enough evidence that they could win a championship. In putting the roster together, the Suns hamstrung themselves financially, leaving them no meaningful depth and no ability to acquire any. When you pair that with a barren draft cache, you’ve got that good-but-not-great tier that the Suns were trying to avoid.
At 35 years old, Durant is still a top-10 player in the NBA. He’s coming off a season where he averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 blocks with a shooting line of .523/.413/.856, earning himself an All-NBA Second Team spot.
Still, reports continue to surface that Durant isn’t happy with his position on the team, specifically how former head coach Frank Vogel used him in the offense. Shams Charania and Doug Haller reported for The Athletic:
Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside (Devin) Booker and (Bradley) Beal this season. Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls. At the same time, some teammates and people close to the organization believed Durant needed to voice his concerns more adamantly and directly with Vogel and his coaching staff.
If indeed Durant isn’t happy and his trade value is still as high as it appears, the Suns can admit failure without having to rebuild their team completely.
Addition by Subtraction
If the Suns pulled the trigger on a Sengun-for-Durant swap, there’s no argument that the Rockets would be receiving the best individual player in the deal. However, basketball is a team sport and addressing the fact that the current Suns star trio doesn’t complement each other as much as anticipated would be smart.
Sengun missed the last few months of the season after injuring his right knee and ankle on March 10 against the Sacramento Kings. At the time, Sengun was playing the best basketball of his young life, coming off a 45-point, 16-rebound, 5-steal performance to secure a massive triple-double with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists before leaving the Kings game in a wheelchair just four days later.
It takes more than being a willing passer to be a good passer, and the numbers show Sengun to be one of the best at the center position. According to NBA.com/stats, Sengun’s assist-to-pass percentage came in at 12.5, only behind Joel Embiid (13.2) and ahead of guys like Nikola Jokic (12.0) and Domantas Sabonis (11.9).
Would the pairing of Sengun and Jusuf Nurkic work? Tough to say, as Sengun’s pairing with Jabari Smith, Jr. doesn’t provide an apples-to-apples comparison, but two bigs who move the ball surrounded by two deadly scorers in Beal and Booker, with the league’s 3-point shooting leader (Grayson Allen) flanking them would be beautiful to watch.
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