3 best trade destinations for Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant

It appears to be a foregone conclusion that Kevin Durant won’t be playing for the Phoenix Suns next season, with a recent report noting that the two sides have been discussing trade scenarios for the 11-time All-NBA honoree.

Last season, Durant averaged 26.6 points per game, while shooting 52.7/43.0/83.9 in 62 regular-season games; he missed time due to ankle and calf injuries, respectively. Durant, who will be 37 at the start of next season, is entering the final season of a four-year, $194.2 million deal, with an extension likely factoring into the equation of a trade.

If and when a trade goes through, it will be the fifth franchise that Durant plays for. And even with Durant on the back nine of his Hall of Fame career, he remains one of the most electric scorers and best shooters in the NBA. He can, at the bare minimum, be a running mate for a team that’s ready to compete for a championship.

Here are the three best trade destinations for Durant. 

It’s difficult to get a sense of where the Grizzlies see themselves, but after firing head coach Taylor Jenkins in March and ripping off 48 wins, they’re closer to contending than blowing up their roster. How about making a move of assertion for Durant?

Ja Morant is electric and one of the most difficult players to guard off the dribble, and Jaren Jackson Jr. is one of the most versatile frontcourt players in the NBA. Heck, the Grizzlies were second in the NBA in scoring in the regular season (121.7 points per game). However, their offense cratered against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, as Memphis averaged just 100.5 points per game in a four-game sweep.

Durant would be the star sidekick that Morant hasn’t had. Yes, Jackson is a terrific player, and Desmond Bane is one of the league’s more well-rounded wings. That said, Durant would give the Grizzlies a second player who can create his own shot and score in isolation like nobody’s business. Durant and Morant would be one of the elite one-two punches in the NBA and give Memphis a better chance of winning contested, postseason games, as Durant is a more reliable shooter than Morant, who could defer in crunch time.

Memphis could send Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke, its 2028 first-round draft pick and the No. 48 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to Phoenix for Durant. The Suns get a borderline All-Star in Bane who’s under contract through the 2028-29 season and an immediate rotation player if not a starter in Clarke, among other assets. Durant could be the oomph that the Grizzlies need to finally go on a deep Western Conference playoff run.

The problem, though, is that this trade going through is reliant on the Suns being high on Bane’s game and that he could be their No. 2 scorer alongside Devin Booker. If Phoenix doesn’t hold a high opinion of Bane, Memphis likely can’t make a Durant trade without including Jackson, which would be counterproductive.

The Timberwolves just made the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive season, so making a drastic trade for a second consecutive offseason (they traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for, most notably, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in 2024) isn’t a must-do. With that said, Randle’s ability to opt out of his contract and become a free agent complicates Minnesota’s offseason.

Anthony Edwards is a superstar. Everything the Timberwolves do moving forward should be about how players fit around him. Edwards and Durant would have an argument for being the best one-two scoring punch in the NBA. Minnesota would have the young superstar scorer, accompanied by the veteran star scorer who was once precisely what Edwards is.

As great of a season as Minnesota had, it has also lost in the Western Conference finals in five games in each of the last two years. Against Oklahoma City, Edwards was held to under 20 points in three games, and Randle was held to single digits in two games; the Timberwolves lost every game where their No. 1 and No. 2 scorers had the aforementioned scoring output. Durant gives Minnesota a proven and consistent high-level scorer who limits the chance of that shutdown happening again.

There are a couple of trade scenarios that could unfold. One option is that Minnesota could sign-and-trade Randle as the primary piece of a Durant trade, pitching the Suns on Randle’s fit next to Booker. A cleaner option is Minnesota sending Rudy Gobert, DiVincenzo and Rob Dillingham to Phoenix for Durant. Naz Reid becomes head coach Chris Finch’s permanent starting center, while the Suns get their Day 1 center in Gobert, a respectable wing in DiVincenzo and a young scorer in Dillingham, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

All that said, the Suns may prefer a plethora of first-round draft picks in a Durant trade, and potentially paying Edwards, Durant and Randle — two of those players on new deals, at that — could get messy for the Timberwolves.

Few NBA teams have more to offer in a trade than the Rockets, who were just the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Granted, they lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. But, with that playoff loss in mind, Durant is exactly what the Rockets need.

Jalen Green is a speed demon who has grown as a scorer, and Alperen Sengun is one of the best interior offensive big men the sport has to offer. But the Rockets still don’t have that bona fide No. 1 scorer, which is what Durant is. Durant can play to his strengths as the featured element of head coach Ime Udoka’s offense, meaning Green and Sengun aren’t asked to play hero ball and also aren’t the first players opposing teams are game-planning for.

The Rockets are an elite defensive team, exhibited by Amen Thompson‘s bouncy, two-way game and Dillon Brooks‘ tenacity. It’s their identity, and they just made a massive leap from Year 1 to Year 2 under Udoka, going from 41 wins to 52 wins. At the same time, a Warriors core on its last leg got the best of the Rockets based on experience and having the two best scorers in the series: Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. Houston isn’t going on a deep playoff run until it presents more problems for teams on the offensive end. Furthermore, the Rockets could acquire Durant and still have the ammunition to make another blockbuster trade this offseason or within the next year. 

Houston could send Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard, Jock Landale and send back the Suns’ 2025 first-round pick (pick No. 10) to Phoenix for Durant. The Suns get a pair of former No. 3 overall picks in Smith and Sheppard, an immediate starter in Brooks and a lottery selection in this year’s draft. That’s a lot for the Rockets to give up for a superstar with maybe two more All-Star seasons left in the tank. On the other hand, you have to give to get, and Smith’s and Sheppard’s respective progressions are each blocked and/or they’ve been unable to play up to their draft slots in Houston.

A championship window can close fast in the NBA, and assets that one year look amazing can depreciate in the blink of an eye. Teams have to strike while the iron is hot, and Durant would be a tremendous fit for the Rockets.

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