Kevin Durant trade proposals: Four deals for the Suns star
Which teams could be in the mix to trade for Kevin Durant this offseason?
Last month, the Golden State Warriors were atop the list of suitors for the future Hall of Famer, but Durant had no interest in a reunion with the franchise he won two titles with, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on the eve of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
And even as the 11th-place Phoenix Suns attempt to secure one of the final Western Conference play-in berths — a push strengthened Tuesday by their historic second-half rally against the LA Clippers — Durant’s future remains a major storyline to watch down the stretch of the season and into the summer.
With that, we asked four NBA analysts (Chris Herring, Zach Kram, Kevin Pelton and André Snellings) to propose realistic trades for the two-time Finals MVP, then had front office insider Bobby Marks evaluate the deals and pick the best offer, based on the directions Phoenix could choose as the franchise looks to reshape its expensive, underperforming and top-heavy roster.
Jump to a KD trade:
DAL | HOU | MIA | NYK
Picking the winning offer
Durant is set to enter the last year of a four-year, $198 million extension he signed in Brooklyn. And while he does not have a no-trade clause like Suns teammate Bradley Beal does, Durant holds leverage on where his next home will be.
“I want my career to end on my terms, that’s the only thing,” Durant said on “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis” last month. “That’s the only thing I’m worried about. ‘Cause I see a lot of dudes that don’t get that opportunity, so I want to keep putting in that work to make that choice on my own.”
As Charania reported recently, Phoenix and Durant will work together if there is a decision to move the All-Star after the season. Two factors will play a role if a trade materializes. The first: Is Durant willing to sign a two-year, $122 million extension with the team trading for him? Because Durant can be a free agent in 2026, it is unlikely a team trades draft capital and players for a one-year rental.
The second, and most important: Is the team that trades for Durant still in position to compete for a championship? At age 36, his next team will likely be his last opportunity to add a third ring.
— Marks
Kevin Pelton details the potential trade packages the Suns could receive for Kevin Durant.
Herring’s trade offer:
Mavericks get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, 2025 first-round pick (via Dallas)
Why it makes sense for both sides
In dealing then-25-year-old Luka Doncic for 31-year-old Anthony Davis, the Mavericks have made no secret that they view their window to contend for a title as the next few years. With that in mind, they would seemingly be of the mind of continuing to push the chips in, even with Kyrie Irving’s torn ACL likely affecting their chances next season.
Getting Durant, one of Irving’s closest friends and his former Brooklyn teammate, would be a clear way to ensure the team’s perimeter scoring and ballhandling stay afloat while Irving rehabs. And it would also give Davis another future Hall of Famer to take pressure off his shoulders night to night. The move would also give Durant a chance to potentially finish his career in the state where he became a one-and-done superstar for the Texas Longhorns.
In this deal, the Suns immediately deepen their rotation, getting not only historic sharpshooter Thompson, but also key win-now players in Washington and Marshall. Most importantly, they would get Lively, who enjoyed a fantastic rookie season on both ends of the floor with Dallas en route to the Mavs reaching the NBA Finals last year. The haul, and the draft pick in a deep selection pool, should be enough to convince franchise player Devin Booker that Phoenix has enough to be competitive.
On the other side, Dallas, like the current Suns roster, would undoubtedly be a thin, top-heavy group as a result of this move — one with a trio of stars who would ultimately need a decent stretch of good health to give the club a chance at glory. It may seem like a heavy investment and risk for the Mavs. Frankly, it is one. But after dealing away Doncic, isn’t that exactly what Mavs general manager Nico Harrison and the club have signed up for at this point?
Kram’s trade offer:
Rockets get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Phoenix; the 2025 first is conveyed after the May draft lottery)
Why it makes sense for both sides
The Rockets are a natural trade partner for the Suns for two main reasons. First, Durant slots neatly into Houston’s largest hole. Thanks to a shiny young core and ferocious defense, the Rockets are rising in the West. But they lack the go-to scorer required to lead a contender and rank just 25th in half-court offense this season, per Cleaning the Glass.
Even at 36, Durant would represent a major improvement in this area. He has a higher usage rate and much better true shooting percentage than any player in Houston’s rotation.
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Second, the Rockets control Phoenix’s draft picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, which the Suns had initially sent to Brooklyn when they traded for Durant. Reacquiring some or all of those picks would bring Phoenix’s Durant era full circle and also allow the team to make whatever future moves it desired without worrying about the potential loss of lottery picks.
In the meantime, this return could also help Phoenix put together a competitive roster around Devin Booker and avoid a full rebuild. Brooks is a useful 3-and-D wing on a declining contract who could plug one hole in the Suns’ porous perimeter defense. Sheppard hasn’t found his footing in his rookie season in Houston, but the No. 3 pick offers more upside than any player on Phoenix’s roster. So too does Whitmore, an occasionally electric scorer (career 22 points per 36 minutes) who hasn’t checked enough other boxes to earn more of coach Ime Udoka’s trust.
Phoenix would acquire the young talent and picks it is missing, while Houston would upgrade from Brooks to Durant without sacrificing anyone else from its current core. That seems like a win-win deal.
Pelton’s trade offer:
Heat get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 first-round pick (via Golden State), 2030 first-round pick (via Miami), 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Nets get: Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami)
Why it makes sense for both sides
If the other offers here actually come in for Durant, the Heat don’t realistically stand a chance. Miami doesn’t have premium draft picks or young prospects to offer and must send out more salary than Durant’s $53.3 million for 2025-26 to avoid a hard cap at the lower luxury tax apron, necessitating sending some of the pick value to the Nets to take Robinson’s $19.9 million salary into cap space. (Some $10 million of Robinson’s 2025-26 contract is non-guaranteed, but the Heat would have to guarantee it in order to count fully as outgoing salary in trade.)
Instead, Miami has to hope that Dallas decides not to sacrifice massive amounts of depth for a Durant pursuit and Houston prefers to wait for a younger star player (say, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Booker) who better fits the team’s timetable.
In that scenario, the Heat can check multiple boxes for the Suns. This trade cuts about $20 million from Phoenix’s 2025-26 payroll, which the Suns could either reinvest in a center or simply take as enormous luxury tax savings. Getting Wiggins, who has bounced back this season as an above-average starter, and Jovic improves Phoenix’s forward depth. And the Suns end up with both the first-round pick the Warriors sent Miami in the Jimmy Butler trade and a valuable unprotected draft pick in 2030 to replenish the team’s coffers.
Snellings’ trade offer:
Knicks get: Kevin Durant
Suns get: OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson
Why it makes sense for both sides
In this deal, the Knicks get Durant after missing out to their crosstown rivals six years ago. The Knicks’ offense is strong but requires consistent heavy lifting from Jalen Brunson to create for the other finishers in the lineup. Well, Durant is one of the greatest finishers in NBA history and would pair with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns to give the Knicks one of the most efficient and productive offensive cores in the NBA. Their skill sets mesh well and could be enough to help the Knicks take that next leap to join the Celtics and Cavaliers in true contention to win the Eastern Conference. They would need to add more depth and size in the offseason, but their offensive foundation and upside would be tremendous.
In Anunoby, the Suns get a 27-year old impact forward on a similar career timeline with 28-year old franchise player Booker. Anunoby is an elite wing defender, named second-team All-Defense in 2023 and with Booker would form a wing tandem that is excellent at both ends of the floor. The Suns also still need more size and muscle in the middle, and the 26-year old Robinson would give them another young veteran entering his peak seasons capable of contributing to the main rotation of a winning squad. Robinson has had health issues, but when on the court, he is one of the better defensive and rebounding bigs in the league.
Dallas, Miami and New York make compelling cases, but it is hard to turn down the trade proposal Houston has offered. The Rockets’ package checked four boxes Phoenix set off to accomplish in trading Durant: draft picks, controllable contracts, players who can help now and financial flexibility.
The trade recouped two firsts lost in the original Durant trade to Brooklyn and puts Phoenix in control of its first in two out of the next three years (Washington has the right to swap firsts in 2026). The other three trade proposals only had Phoenix receiving one first. Prior to the trade, Phoenix had no control of its own first over the next seven years.
The addition of Sheppard and Whitmore gives Phoenix two controllable contracts for the future and an injection of youth into an aging team. The Suns finished the 2024-25 regular season behind only the Clippers as the oldest team in the NBA. Before the trade, last year’s draft picks Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro were the only players on the roster who were 23 years old or younger. The Rockets trade is the only proposal that includes two players on first-round rookie scale contracts.
And while OG Anunoby is probably the best “win-now” player included in the trade, the $176 million left on his contract after this season is a hard no. Brooks can give Phoenix the same production at a quarter of what is owed to Anunoby.
The financial component sealed the deal with Houston. By taking back $11 million less than what is owed to Durant and then releasing Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic, the Suns would drop below the second apron in 2025-26, finally allowing the Suns to aggregate contracts and send out cash in a trade.
— Marks
DENVER — Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 22 assists and the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Phoenix Suns 149-141 in overtime Friday night after losing a 21-point lead.
Jokic became the first NBA player with a triple-double of at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists. He tied his team record with his 29th triple-double of the season, stretching his career total to 149. It was also the seventh time this season that Jokic had at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a game, tied with Oscar Robertson (1961-62) for the most in a season in NBA history.
Jokic’s 22 assists were also an NBA record for a center.
“Nikola Jokic is one of one,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I mean, the first player to ever have a 30, 20, and 20 game. I can’t describe him, so don’t ask me to. The guy is just an incredible player, and when you are one of one in this league and the tremendous history of this league, that says a lot. And there’s a lot of good players in this league, but Nikola, in my opinion, is just in a class well by himself.”
Aaron Gordon made a career-high seven 3-pointers and had 27 points for Denver. Kevin Durant scored 29 points for Phoenix, hitting a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to send it into overtime.
Jokic opened the extra period with a floater in the lane to spark a 7-0 run. The Nuggets led by 11 after Christian Braun’s dunk and layup with 51 seconds left.
Three nights after overcoming a 23-point deficit to beat the LA Clippers 119-117 at home, the Suns trailed 85-64 in the third and cut it to 102-91 heading into the fourth. They went ahead 122-120 in the final minute, but Denver answered and took a 125-122 lead on Braun’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.
Devin Booker scored 16 of his 34 points for the Suns in the fourth quarter, but was scoreless in overtime. Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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DC HENDRIX
The Dallas Mavericks made the boldest move of any team by swapping stars Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. Depending on how this works out for them in this year’s NBA postseason, the Mavs could be busy on the market again this offseason.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report wrote about every NBA team and a trade they wish they could make right now. One of his trades has Dallas acquiring Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant.
“Apologies to the Mavericks fans still mourning the loss of their homegrown, 26-year-old, five-time first-team All-NBA playmaker, the kind of trade the Mavs might be wishing to make right now would send out salary filler, someone like Dereck Lively II and maybe even a draft pick for KD,” Bailey wrote.
Mavericks center Dereck Lively II is out for the next couple of months due to an ankle fracture. He had put together a pretty decent season prior to the team acquiring Anthony Davis. To acquire Durant and his huge contract, Dallas would need to include more players in the deal.
The Mavericks would also have to send Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford along with him for the contracts to match up. This doesn’t include the draft picks as well. This would be the only way Dallas creates their big three of Kyrie Irving, Davis and Durant.
Reports came out after the trade deadline that Dallas made efforts to acquire Durant. His tenure in Phoenix has been disappointing but joining alongside other stars for another chance at a championship would be a great way for him to go out. If the Mavericks rejoin talks with the Suns, a deal could get done this offseason.
Both the Mavericks and the Suns are fighting their way into a play-in playoff spot in the Western Conference. While Dallas is expecting Davis back at some point this season, the Suns have been relatively healthy all season. The way this season finishes for both teams will dictate how busy they’ll be on the trade market this offseason.
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Dedrick Hendrix is a basketball writer from Indiana. He has been covering the NBA since 2010. He first began writing about the NBA for Bleacher Report. Since then he has covered the NBA for Fansided, Ridiculous Upside (NBA G League website) and The Lead Sports Media. He has a Media Communications degree from Full Sail University. His love for the game of basketball expands from college to the pros in both men’s and women’s basketball.
