The Best Of Bad Options For The Suns And Kevin Durant

Everyone comes away a little unhappy.

Photo by Dimitar Belchev on Unsplash

The KD saga continues, and I’ve talked about it so much on various shows that I thought I’d consolidate my thoughts here on what the Suns need, what KD seems to want, and how to navigate a tricky situation.

THE SUNS’ ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

I want to take a minute and express some sympathy for the Suns.

There was a time when the Knicks were the epitome of dysfunction, and they added players you knew you could not trade for anything, that they were just going to hang out on their books and slowly kill them.

This is not that.

Yes, Beal was a risk and a miss. But the guy finished second in scoring three years ago. He was a serious player in the late 2010s. And with Booker and KD, you needed a third guy under the old CBA and that third guy didn’t have to be perfect.

It just didn’t work.

You can’t blame them for trading for Kevin Durant. It’s been long enough now that everyone’s starting to look at his career and go “Wait a minute…” because he had so few years of true contention, but those were after OKC and Golden State.

The Nets should have worked on paper. The Suns should have worked on paper. Basketball isn’t played on paper, but I have a really hard time criticizing Phoenix for believing it would be different for them.

And yet here we are.

The Suns understandably had high expectations for what they were getting back. You want to get back something close to what you gave up for him. Suns fans were capital-O Optimistic about the potential return just a week ago.

Unfortunately, the price has gone down.

He’s about to be 37. He’s in the last year of his deal. He’s making a ton under this CBA, and if you give up capital for him, you need assurances he’ll re-sign.

And of course, Durant is actively sabotaging the market.

Tim Connelly just can never ever get KD interested. He tried several times in Denver to lure the DMV native and could never get traction. Minnesota makes the most sense for both teams.

League sources have said the Nets were brought in as a potential third-team in a deal construct, which would have helped move money and contracts to help both teams reshape their rosters. (No idea what they were getting or sending, but I would speculatively bet Nic Claxton to Phoenix was part of those talks.)

But then KD did what it is his right, and sent out word that he doesn’t want to play there. ¹

Maybe the Wolves pull the trigger anyway with a “you’ll love us when you get here” concept. After all, just swapping out components to clear cap space next year would be valuable for the Wolves long-term.

But let’s say Minnesota’s out.

The Knicks have indicated to New York sources they’re not interested. I’m a little skeptical. The KAT fit was not perfect. There was clearly tension since the team threw him into a grave and shoveled dirt in his face in that post-season Athletic article. You really don’t want to trade Towns for KD, get another offensive weapon who can switch?

Towns is the better asset over the next four years, but if you can’t get everyone on the same page, does it matter? Especially since you’re interviewing Mike Brown who pissed off his stars in Sacramento (by actually demanding things from them) and Taylor Jenkins who oversaw the cursed 2023 Grizzlies season, chemistry-wise?

But let’s say the Knicks are out.

Here’s how I’d rate the remainders. For this exercise I’m not trying to get back the best deal for Phoenix, the best deal for the team trading for KD, or the best situation for KD. I’m trying to find a situation where everyone’s a little unhappy, the true meaning of compromise.

BEST OPTION: The Houston Rockets’ Middle Ground

It is not a secret, it’s been hinted at/reported vaguely but there’s a divide in Houston. Coaches want to win games. Executives want to build sustainable growth and success over many seasons.

Which side do you think wants KD and which side do you think wants to pass?

But there’s a middle ground here. Houston is the rare team that can send assets to let the Suns save face and not give up a lot. If they give Phoenix back some of their draft capital, especially the 2029 most-favorable of Dallas or Phoenix, along with Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr., both sides can live with that.

The Rockets keep Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun, their two best players. They move off Jalen Green’s contract. They keep the short-term Suns assets to use to better themselves as they reach contention, and they get Durant for at least a season to mentor and carry the offense.

KD is still elite at the exact thing Houston needs: floor-setting offense. The man will set an untracked record for “most years able to be a bucket in lifetime.” He will still be knocking down pull-up j’s in his 70’s.²

The Suns get Jabari Smith Jr. as a smallball five combo to put with Booker. Jabari was very close to going No.1 in his draft and has suffered from the absence of guards willing to pass to him. He’s known as a great locker room guy and is going to be in the league forever.

Maybe Jalen Green and Booker compliment each other. No, I don’t know how. No, I don’t know why we would think that. The mystery is a universe. But either way, Green’s value will get better over the next few years as he improves and his contract length shortens.

Maybe you can sell low on Green to get the center you’re looking for, since centers are still less valuable — if harder to get— than scoring machines.

Sure, getting Sengun would be terrific and that’s probably a move that Ime Udoka would be OK with given their history. It is also perfectly understandable for Stone to hold the line at their best overall player.³

SECOND BEST OPTION: Miami Gives Up The Ghost

If Pat Riley walks into the room and says “I’m too old for this, I want to make another run, KD will get us there, get it done, send the kid,” how hard does the rest of the Heat war room fight to keep Kel’El Ware?