Kevin Durant does have some leverage on where he gets traded. He has one year, at $54.7 million remaining on his contract, any team that trades for him will want to sign him to an extension. Durant can always say, “I will not re-sign with you.”
Durant wants to be traded to the San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. Shams Charania of ESPN added the Miami Heat to those two teams. Amick adds that Durant may not get his wish, the Suns are most concerned with the best return they can get and if a team is willing to risk him walking after one year — as Toronto did to land Kawhi Leonard for the 2018-19 season (which worked out well for them) — the Suns will listen. Durant is seeking a two-year extension for more than $100 million.
Both the Spurs and Rockets would be considered title contenders if they add Durant. The Spurs have Victor Wembanyama in the paint and De’Aaron Fox at the point, Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, and they are almost certainly drafting Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick in less than two weeks. The Rockets were the No. 2 seed in the West last season, boasting a core of young players such as Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. However, the playoffs revealed that this team lacks an elite-level, go-to scorer they can trust in the playoffs, and they also need more spacing and scoring in the half court. Durant checks all those boxes.
However, both the Spurs and Rockets like their current cores, and have spent the last few years protecting their assets and building slowly. To suddenly trade some of that core for a 37-year-old Durant would be a dramatic shift, and the offers may reflect that. The Suns have been unimpressed by the Spurs’ offers built around Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Harrison Barnes, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
The perception leaguewide is that the Rockets and Spurs are looking for a steal of a deal, not the kind of trade haul the Suns are hoping to land for the future Hall of Famer. There have also been reports that the Spurs are not pushing hard to get any deal done. San Antonio reportedly would be willing to trade the No. 14 pick in this year’s NBA draft, but not the No. 2 pick or parts of their young core. The Rockets’ offer reportedly would focus around Jabari Smith Jr.
One thing to take from these latest rumors: Everyone expects Durant to be traded by or at the draft (unless it is a situation where a handshake deal is in place to make a trade after July 6, when the new NBA fiscal year begins). A Durant trade is coming, sooner rather than later. The only question is where.
