Kevin Durant will likely be hiring a realtor shortly after the NBA season ends.
“[The Suns] are going to trade him, and he knows that,” ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst said Wednesday on NBA Today. “Everybody’s intentions are crystal clear.”
A divorce between Durant and the Suns has seemed inevitable since the Feb. 6 trade deadline, when it was revealed the team was exploring trades without telling him or his management. Durant later declined a trade that would have reunited him with Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
Durant’s next home would mark his third team in five years.
Durant is in the third year of a four-year, $199 million extension he signed as a member of the Nets in 2021 before getting traded to the Suns in 2023. He’s slated to make roughly $55 million next season and is eligible for a two-year, $120 million extension this summer. (Durant, 36, is eligible only for a two-year pact because the over-36 rule in the collective bargaining agreement limits long-term extensions for older players.)
Despite his age, Durant is still averaging 26.9 points per game, which ranks sixth in the NBA.
With a split likely coming this offseason, here are some things to watch in a possible Durant trade.
How Phoenix Factors In
When the Nets traded Durant in 2023, Brooklyn received Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson along with four unprotected first-round picks and a 2028 first-round pick swap. Durant was 33 at the time and will turn 37 before the start of next season, raising the odds of his next stop being his last.
The Suns haven’t been past the second round since pairing Durant with Devin Booker, and since acquiring Bradley Beal in 2023, the trio has struggled with cohesion and health. The Suns have the highest payroll in NBA history at roughly $400 million, when including luxury tax, but are 27–31 as of Thursday, three games outside the play-in tournament.
If the Suns trade Durant this summer, they’ll want to maximize the return for him in an attempt to rebuild their asset pool. But despite his strong age-36 season, it’s hard to see a team offering a massive haul.
Durant joined former teammate Draymond Green’s podcast Wednesday and said he wants to end his career “on my terms,” which could influence where he goes. Durant picked Phoenix as his preferred destination when he requested a trade from the Nets and star players tend to get their way in the NBA.
While Durant’s massive salary might make it hard for teams to accumulate the money to match it, the NBA salary cap is expected to spike this summer as the league’s new media-rights deal starts, which might create more cap space for interested teams than they had at the deadline.
Possible Destinations
Rockets: Houston might be the most attractive destination for Durant. He is a big fan of Ime Udoka, having been coached by him in Brooklyn when he was an assistant. Houston has control of the Suns’ 2027 first-round draft picks and swap rights on two others. Fred VanVleet’s $45 million team option next season helps match salary, and the Suns can acquire their own picks back while Durant joins a young core built around Alperen Şengün that would contend immediately. The Rockets tried to acquire Durant shortly before the 2024 draft. Maybe the second time is the charm?
Heat: Miami president Pat Riley has tried and failed to land Durant throughout his tenure as an executive. Durant met with the organization in the Hamptons before signing with the Warriors in 2016, and the Heat tried to acquire Durant at the deadline for Jimmy Butler. Miami lacks a star in light of Butler’s departure, and Durant would have an easier path to one final championship alongside Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro in the weaker Eastern Conference. The Heat have draft capital and the salaries of Andrew Wiggins ($28 million next season) and Terry Rozier ($26 million) to quickly match Durant’s salary.
Thunder: A Durant–Oklahoma City reunion eight years after an ugly split would be a full-circle moment for the organization’s greatest player. The Thunder have the draft picks to appease Phoenix and would have to trade only a combination of Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso to match Durant’s salary. He and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be one of the league’s best offensive duos, and the West’s best team is deep enough to survive a blockbuster trade. Durant failed to deliver a championship to OKC in eight seasons. Returning to finish the job would be a storybook ending to a legendary career.
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