Kevin Durant tried to shrug off the shock of hearing his name in trade rumors before the deadline.
“It’s just part of the business,” Durant told reporters Monday, via the Associated Press. “Everybody’s bought and sold in this league. Anybody can be up for auction, so I understand that…
“I always had a goal of just playing my contract out and seeing what happens. I can’t focus on a year and a half down the line. I know that will be a topic.”
Oh, it will be a topic.
Durant is likely the biggest name and best player available via trade this summer, and around the league people expect he and the Suns will find a way to part ways this season, something Brian Windhorst talked about on ESPN’s Get Up (hat tip Real GM). Part of that is the Suns are a very expensive 26-27 team right now — one that would miss even the play-in if the postseason started today — and heads into the summer as a luxury tax second apron team for next season.
“He’s probably going to get traded this summer,” said Brian Windhorst on Get Up on Wednesday. “He knows it. The Suns know it. The rest of the league knows it. They’re going to enjoy him while they have him. It’s not really controversial in all honesty. They’re under .500. They have a $230 million payroll, then add over $100 million on tax on top of that…
“I would expect Durant and the Suns this summer to work together to find a new home.”
Because Durant would be heading into the final year of his contract and whoever trades for him would want to extend him, Durant has some leverage as to where he might be traded. That said, this seems more like an amicable parting of ways than a trade coming from bitterness.
The Suns’ challenge is that, because of salary matching rules, trading Durant means taking on almost as much salary from another team. Thus, the Suns don’t save much money against the tax and will likely get worse (whoever they get back for Durant will not be better, but maybe younger). The Suns might be better off playing out next season with KD and then letting him walk as a free agent in 2026, retooling the roster around Devin Booker at that point.
Whatever the outcome, expect Kevin Durant will be a topic this offseason.
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