Will Kevin Durant Head to Phoenix?
It’s been a pretty eventful 2022 NBA offseason thus far, yet the biggest move of the year could still be on the horizon with rumors of Kevin Durant being traded to the Phoenix Suns starting to intensify. However, there are plenty of factors standing in the way of the Brooklyn Nets in order to make this blockbuster deal happen.
Nitrobetting is ready to dish out some timely assists to our bettors all throughout the 2022 NBA offseason and beyond. This time, let’s know more about what the Suns need to make a trade for Kevin Durant happen, as well as a closer look at Durant’s other suitors.
What A Kevin Durant-Phoenix Suns Trade Looks Like
Ayton as Part of the Deal Makes A Ton of Sense
A superstar like Kevin Durant would need a player who’s close to his level of talent as part of the deal in order for a fair trade offer to materialize. That being said, the Suns have a couple of young All-Star-level players in center Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker whom Phoenix can offer to Brooklyn.
However, in the case of Booker, the three-time All-Star is still on a designated-rookie contract in line for the max extension, and the Nets already have a similar player in Ben Simmons under such a deal. The NBA forbids a team from having two such players under pending max contract extensions, so Booker is out of the question unless Phoenix shows some interest in Simmons, whose value on the market is as low as it gets.
That being said, Ayton is the best remaining trade asset that the Suns have in their bag. Although the former first-overall pick doesn’t share the same position as Durant and must be prepared for a sign-and-trade deal to happen before being dealt, Ayton has tremendous upside for any team willing to build their franchise around the Bahaman big man who’s averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds, and one block per game in throughout his first four years in the NBA.
Third-Party Intervention Most Likely Required
Even with Ayton as a solid bargaining chip, the Suns would still need to pony up more assets to even come close to matching the asking price for Durant. In fact, the Nets are asking for no less than five future first-round picks for KD not including supplemental players in the deal.
As such, Phoenix would likely need a trade partner in order to meet Brooklyn’s demands. The Utah Jazz come to mind as a suitable trade partner of late as they’ve just accrued a ton of draft picks from their own recent trade that sent Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. If the Jazz are interested in Ayton as the heir apparent to Gobert’s role under center, then the Suns could work out a deal with them by getting the necessary draft picks required to make the Nets happy.
In this hypothetical three-team deal, Phoenix would end up with Durant, Utah with Ayton, and Brooklyn will haul in so much draft capital out of such a deal that they could start a full rebuild a new in no time. It’s a win-win-win situation for the three teams involved in this scenario, but this also goes to show how hard it will be for the Suns to complete a trade for Durant given the Nets’ justifiably high asking price for the disgruntled future Hall-of-Famer.
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