RealGM

Suns trade:
Kevin Durant
#29

Suns receive:
Jabari Smith Jr
Kentavious Caldwell Pope
Jock Landale
Aaron Holiday
PHX Pick '26 (swap right reversed).
PHX Pick '27

Houston to trades:
Jabari Smith Jr
Jalen Green
Jock Landale
Aaron Holiday
PHX Pick '27

Houston receives:
Kevin Durant

Memphis trades:
Kentavious Caldwell Pope
PHX Pick '26 (swap right reversed).

Memphis receives:
Jalen Green
Pick #29

But... why?

Suns:
Can do a two year mini-rebuild. All contracts they're acquiring expire or have expired by the time Beal comes off the books. In the' 27 offseason they'll have Booker & Jabari under contract + two picks from the past two seasons with a bunch of capspace to fill out the roster.

Houston:
Houston desperately needs shooting/scoring and already have plenty of depth at Jabari's position. I'm assuming Houston values #10 more than the '27 pick, while Phoenix values the latter more.

Memphis:
Dump a bad contract in KCP for a lesser bad contract in Green, with the latter atleast still having upside potential. Green would fill the whole left by trading Bane. Get pick #29 as well while reserving the swao rights on PHX's '26 pick - which has more value to the Suns than for Memphis.

EDIT: I should have put this more clearly in my OP, the 2026 Suns pick is a swap. In the scenario I propose, the swap rights get reversed.

Edit 2: Re-reading the pick swap sequences, due to Charlotte ultimately getting the least favorable pick, this trade might not be possible due to a possible.

No chance Memphis is giving up that pick for Green. If you want that pick back then someone like Eason is going to have to coming back to Memphis in this 3 way.

I think green is a worse contract than kcp. Op is also illegal for memphis

yeah I hate this for Memphis too. Terrible value and wrong direction.

Also think its a pretty big overpay in general for KD at this point.

Seems like all of the "list" teams have arrived at the same valuation of Durant, which is far below Phoenix's expectations.

Maybe that changes, I don't know, but that valuation lands at a young player, salary filler, and some mild pick compensation.

Vassal / Barnes / #14
Green / Jock / Holiday #10
Wiggins / Duncan / #20 / perhaps a future pick

This deal aims to extract a premiere young player in Jabari, and two extremely valuable future firsts from a team heavily underwater. I don't see the eventual deal landing anywhere near this, with the current buyers appetite.

Green to Memphis might be considered as a buy low dart throw but I think it would just be something like Cole/KCP and maybe a couple 2nds. That PHX pick is the prize of the Bane trade right now and wouldn’t be used in a trade like this. Same thing if it is Vassell, Memphis might take him in at a neutral trade value evaluation.

This is really a dream come true for the Suns at this point. Highly touted prospect who lost some of his enamor in Jabari Smith Jr, 2 1sts in consecutive drafts, allowing Phoenix to do a quick reset as they bottom out for only 1.5 seasons with long-term salary in the deal matching those 2 seasons in KCP.

It's an interesting take on the newly founded Memphis Grizzles combined with a Kevin Durant deal.

Easy no from the Rockets.
That is too much for Durant.

Texas Chuck wrote:yeah I hate this for Memphis too. Terrible value and wrong direction.

Also think its a pretty big overpay in general for KD at this point.

Why is this terrible value for memphis?

Are you guys that convinced that a Bane-less Grizzlies team will be that much better than the Suns next year?

Had the pick swap happened this year, Memphis would have jumped up a measly 6 spots. And that is Memphis team with Bane, and with the Suns playing far below expectations.

IMO the 2026 pick swap might not even convert for Memphis, even if it does it's not likely going to be a significant jump for memphis.

psman2 wrote:No chance Memphis is giving up that pick for Green. If you want that pick back then someone like Eason is going to have to coming back to Memphis in this 3 way.

.

The 2026 pick is a swap. Memphis doesn't own the Suns' pick, there is a possibility it doesn't convert. While I agree the pick has value, it hold far more value for the Suns than for Memphis. Definitely not Eason-level value.

Mr Puddles wrote:

Texas Chuck wrote:yeah I hate this for Memphis too. Terrible value and wrong direction.

Also think its a pretty big overpay in general for KD at this point.

Why is this terrible value for memphis?

Are you guys that convinced that a Bane-less Grizzlies team will be that much better than the Suns next year?

Had the pick swap happened this year, Memphis would have jumped up a measly 6 spots. And that is Memphis team with Bane, and with the Suns playing far below expectations.

IMO the 2026 pick swap might not even convert for Memphis, even if it does it's not likely going to be a significant jump for memphis. With this trade the Grizzlies get a guaranteed pick in 2025 and a player upgrade in Green over KCP.

There are big question marks around both teams, but a lot less around Memphis. But having two shots at lottery luck is always better than one shot plus I think KCP helps them win more than Jalen Green does. He's not nearly so shiny, but the two things he does: defend and make 3's(and force teams to guard him) are valuable team-raising skills. Using up a bunch of offensive possessions at mediocre efficiency has some value on a team like the Rockets who didn't have a lot of offensive options, but its a ceiling capper and not a particularly high floor raising.

Mr Puddles wrote:

psman2 wrote:No chance Memphis is giving up that pick for Green. If you want that pick back then someone like Eason is going to have to coming back to Memphis in this 3 way.

.

The 2026 pick is a swap. Memphis doesn't own the Suns' pick, there is a possibility it doesn't convert. While I agree the pick has value, it hold far more value for the Suns than for Memphis. Definitely not Eason-level value.

We 1st get the option to swap that pick with Orlando’s pick. That could easily be something like pick 24 for pick 10 or better. PHX is losing it’s pick to someone, if it’s not to us with either Orlando or Memphis pick then Charlotte gets it.

Mr Puddles wrote:

psman2 wrote:No chance Memphis is giving up that pick for Green. If you want that pick back then someone like Eason is going to have to coming back to Memphis in this 3 way.

.

The 2026 pick is a swap. Memphis doesn't own the Suns' pick, there is a possibility it doesn't convert. While I agree the pick has value, it hold far more value for the Suns than for Memphis. Definitely not Eason-level value.

Grizz own 2nd and 3rd swap rights, doubt the Wizards are trying to win which is the only thing to really throw the pick off. 90% chance it belongs to Memphis. Eason is fine value for a perceived lottery pick with an additional first added.

That’s an unbelievable return for PHX at the expense of Hou/Mem

KD to Hou

Jalen to Grizz

#10, Whitmore and salary fillers to Suns

Is where I’d be at. Houston has little to no incentive to give a lot for KD. If we were an older contender on the verge of a ring, and didn’t own future PHX picks, I’d want him a lot more and would be willing to give a lot more.