"I want my career to end on my terms, that's the only thing."
That's how 37-year-old Kevin Durant described his future recently on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis. That future likely will be with another team as Durant and the Suns are expected to part ways this summer, something league sources have confirmed to NBC Sports and has been widely reported. With one year left on his contract and seeking an extension, Durant has some control over where he might get traded.
What teams are interested? Keep an eye on the Timberwolves, Heat, Knicks, Spurs and Rockets, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on the network’s NBA Today show.
"Back at the NBA trade deadline in February, Minnesota, Miami, New York, San Antonio and Houston were among the team, I'm told, there was mutual interest between Durant and those teams. I expect those teams and potentially other to be back in the fray this summer."
You can be sure plenty more teams will at least kick the tires on a Durant trade.
Among those the teams ESPN mentioned, it would be a real challenge for Miami and New York to match salaries and provide the three first-round picks and a young player that the Suns are hoping to get back in a trade (whatever team makes this trade, it likely ends up involving three or more teams). The Suns also want to dump salary in this and get below the second apron. Houston and San Antonio are better positioned to make that work if those up-and-coming squads decide that chasing Durant is the path they want to choose. Rockets GM Rafael Stone has said he wants to see what his team looks like in the playoffs this year before making any moves.
Golden State was also in the mix back in February, and talks got pretty far down the road between the teams before someone bothered to ask Durant, who said he didn't want to return to the Bay Area. With the Warriors pivoting to trade for Jimmy Butler, they are out of the running this time. It should be noted that Durant is "open" to signing a $122 million extension and staying in Phoenix, reports Logan Murdock at The Ringer. The odds on that outcome are long, but it's on the table.
Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia has been clear that he doesn't want a total teardown and rebuild after a wildly disappointing season, but instead seeks quick retooling around Devin Booker (he has shot down the idea that the Suns might trade Booker). Trading Durant can bring back the kinds of players to help with that, plus some picks to replenish the Suns' depleted stock (they don't control their own pick until 2032). A Durant trade is expected to happen, but the "where" is still very much in the air.
