Post#145 » by LarsV8 » Sun Jun 15, 2025 4:36 am
The issue with Durant is that he's an extremely volatile asset. Ten games in, he could suffer a torn ACL and be done for his career—or he could deliver four years of lower-usage, high-efficiency greatness. He’s a good gamble at a low cost, but not at a high one (especially when factoring in salary). That’s particularly true for young, promising teams like Houston and San Antonio.
Right now, it seems like Durant’s preferred destinations might not be nearly as high on him as he is on them. Because of the salary burden, their offers could end up being underwhelming—maybe one decent asset and some filler contracts. Think teams like San Antonio, Miami, or Houston. In other words, no Ware, Castle, or Jabari. Maybe they throw in one solid pick or a couple of middling ones, but nothing huge.
Other teams might be willing to offer more, but Durant could discourage them by signaling he’d treat it as a rental. Minnesota seems to be the most aggressive, probably because they’ve boxed themselves into a corner timeline-wise and have fewer options to improve. The wildcard here is how much say Durant wants in choosing his destination. Has he ever missed the playoffs or been on a completely irrelevant team before last season? That likely stung—he seems like someone who cares about that.
As for Houston, they’re tied up with potential extensions for FVV, Jabari, and Tari. If one of those falls apart, maybe their priorities shift. But they already secured a very favorable extension with Steven Adams, so things are looking good so far.
Another factor that could shift the landscape: if Durant agrees to a team-friendly extension. That would reduce his risk profile and might convince a team to include an extra asset in the deal. Or maybe a secondary asset comes back in the trade—like Kris Dunn or one of Phoenix’s bad firsts, from their last terrible decision.
Something else to watch: if a player Phoenix really likes unexpectedly drops on draft night, they might soften their stance and get a deal done.
The biggest overall issue here is that Phoenix is not operating rationally and doesn't understand how terrible of a position they are in. Its unquestionably the worst in the NBA. They are literally trying to "improve" by trading Kevin Durant....They have one rational move and its to trade Booker and Durant. This retool around Booker nonsense makes no sense. I fully expect them to make the worst decision possible every step of the way.
It’s a fascinating situation. I’m looking forward to watching it unfold—and eventually getting the behind-the-scenes scoop. This kind of drama is what makes the NBA so compelling, especially with one of your teams as a stakeholder.
