Kevin Durant said in February that he was “blindsided” when he learned that the Suns were discussing potential trades involving him without his knowledge, and sources tell ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst that there was some disagreement within the organization about how those talks were handled.
According to ESPN’s duo, that situation is one reason why Suns owner Mat Ishbia and new general manager Brian Gregory have spoken repeatedly about a desire for all of the team’s leaders to be in “alignment” going forward. It’s also why Durant and his manager Rich Kleiman are being kept in the loop during this summer’s trade talks.
Still, while the Suns would ideally like to find a deal that Durant is happy with, finding “alignment” with the star forward on that front is ultimately less important for the franchise than maximizing its return in any KD trade, as Bontemps and Windhorst observe. League sources who have spoken to ESPN believe Phoenix may have a hard time finding a package the front office will be satisfied with, though there’s still a sense a deal could get done before or during the draft.
Bontemps and Windhorst identify the Clippers as one potential dark-horse suitor to watch in the Durant sweepstakes, echoing an earlier report from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
Here are a few more highlights from that ESPN report:
- Due in part to a lack of high-end free agents and teams with cap room, one source who spoke to ESPN predicted the draft will be busier than normal in terms of trades and might even be the summer’s “high point of activity.”
- The Knicks were declined permission to speak to five head coaches currently under contract with rival teams, but there’s a belief that those initial denials may not be the end of the team’s pursuit of Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and/or Bulls coach Billy Donovan, per Bontemps and Windhorst. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link) has heard similar rumblings, but he says Donovan “isn’t going anywhere” and is “in Chicago to stay.” We wrote more on Thursday about why New York may not be ready to move on from Kidd right away.
- While there’s an expectation around the NBA that it may take the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM) to sign free agent guard Ty Jerome this summer, the Cavaliers are hopeful that he’ll be willing to re-sign in Cleveland for a little less than that, sources tell ESPN. With starting point guard Darius Garland coming off toe surgery, the Cavs may feel some added pressure to bring back Jerome, but the cost would be high, since the club projects to operate above the second tax apron and will face a substantial luxury tax bill.
- In case you missed it, Bontemps and Windhorst also shared a handful of Bucks-related notes and rumors, which we rounded up in a separate story.
I don’t see how the Clippers could make a real offer for KD? What assets do they have to trade to be enough money changing teams?
They possess none of their own picks until 2031 I believe? I think they would need a 3rd team to get into the mix. Harden def would have to be gone for this.
Probably starting offer in terms of salary/talent – Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, Bogdan Bogdanovic that’s $54M (same as KD), it’s about the picks though that will create a road block for any real traction for this to go down.
Zubac and Dunn?
ask the 3rd team to take Bogdan: Jazz, Nets or anyone else
Or
Clippers get Durant and Nick Richards
Suns get Zubac, Powell, Bogdan and Eubanks
Center pieces: Zubac
Salary matching
Please let KD go to Clippers, I hate and wont watch either so thats a perfect match.
Smh. I don’t understand the Clipper’s strategy. They desperately need to get YOUNGER. They should seriously consider trading Harden and Kawhi and start over fresh. The Pacers and OKC TEAM model is going to be the new way teams will be structured if they want to be successful. A team can no longer rely on 1 or 2 high paid guys and a thin roster built on scraps.
if Spurs or Rockets had made good offers, the KD deal would have done
Spurs and Rockets made bad trade offers for Durant, now Wolves and Clippers have a chance
I dunno if that is true. As noted in a different story, the league doesn’t want an announcement until the finals are over. So maybe the deal is done or close to it and they are just stringing things out until they can make the announcement.
Spurs and Rockets are the teams with most to offer in a big trade. Whoever looses out on a Giannis trade. Could realistically move to a KD trade. After that Miami and Minny seem like a serious KD destination. I don’t see KD staying in Phoenix this year.
Knicks Rose never talks to media. Neither does Dolan. Thibs was the one who handled the media. So all this talk about coaches. I find amusing. First why would you level down from Thibs. Fans are now expecting a Finals run. Only two coaches might give you that Udoka, Kidd. Both under contract. So it ain’t happening. Knicks priorities are the bench, a shooter. The others couldn’t run around MSG without getting stomped and sent packing.
Knicks coaching search. Is a fallacy made up by writers with too much space.
Who is out there that can bring the respect Thibs had. Who is out there that can add to the success of Thibs. Its not a first year coach. Or clowns that will wilt under the bright lights. Only one choice out there ….just sign him before the draft. And buy a pick Dolan … please.
HOU, of the 3 teams mentioned, needs KD the least. Even if their seeding was bloated last year, they figure to be in the top 4 of the West if they return the existing core and add shooting. They have lots of pieces to make other moves to get what they need to stay in that regard.
MIA needs KD the most. Without a KD deal, they will likely spend another season out of the top 4 in the East. Because they need a star who can be a 1st option, not just shooting or other skill set(s), there are few alternatives to the upgrade they need.
MIN is somewhere in between. They have their 1st option, so it’s certainly not KD or bust like MIA. But they don’t have a lot of trade assets and can’t afford a passive off season where they just lose Randle and Reid and return the rest.
So, I like MIA to come away with him, with MIN extending the negotiations. HOU wants to save their assets.
If Hou is saving their assets for Giannis then okay but otherwise I would argue they need KD the most. They lost that game 7 because nobody could score the basketball. Replace Jalen Green minutes with Kevin Durant and they would have definitely won that series.
The thing with having all these young assets is eventually you have to pay them. With the new CBA and the way the aprons are constructed how are they going to pay Green, Sengun, Amen, Jabari, and Eason all what they can get on the open market. I think it’s a similar situation to what OKC is going run into with SGA, JDub and Chet. With the new rules it’s hard to pay lots of guys top tier money and the owners did that intentionally so they would stop spending so much.
I agree with most of what you’ve written. But I was evaluating the need for KD in terms of the possible alternatives this offseason or even at the deadline. I agree it’s not a really viable alternative to just hold all the young guys indefinitely when there aren’t enough minutes or $$ for all of them.
But KD isn’t likely to be the last scoring star that becomes available or quasi-available, and HOU (unlike MIA or MIN) still has assets with enough shelf-life left to pursue any star that hereafter becomes available. Likely to be one more age appropriate, even if not a KD level superstar. I’m not sure MIA has the assets for KD, but they certainly don’t have enough to get a younger star who may hereafter become available.