Kevin Durant is one of the biggest names of the offseason following reports that the Suns‘ 36-year-old star has likely played his last game in Phoenix.
With that in mind, Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin broke down six 2025 playoff teams, what their fit with Durant would look like, and what they could offer as a trade return for the Suns.
The first destination Rankin looked at is the Timberwolves, who reportedly took a closer look at Durant at the 2025 trade deadline than was previously known. While Rankin says the Suns should be most interested in Julius Randle, his proposed deal includes Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, and young depth like Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark.
Other trade options considered involve a one-for-one trade with the Warriors for Jimmy Butler, a deal that lands the Grizzlies‘ Ja Morant or Desmond Bane in Phoenix, two centered around young upside swings for either the Rockets‘ Jalen Green and Jabari Smith or the Pistons‘ Jaden Ivey, and a depth-replenishing trade with the Heat for Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson, and Kel’el Ware.
While the Suns face cap-related limitations on any deal, Durant will undoubtedly have his share of suitors once the trade markets open.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- After rescinding their trade for the Hornets‘ Mark Williams, the Lakers were stuck without a playable starting center in the 2025 playoffs. Going into the 2025/26 season, filling that hole will be priority one, especially given Luka Doncic‘s love of playing with a lob threat, writes Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. Price quotes general manager Rob Pelinka’s address to the media following the season. “It would be great to have a center that was a vertical threat, lob threat, and someone that could protect the interior defensively… There’s also spread centers that can protect the rim. We’ll look at those as well. I wouldn’t want to limit the archetype, but we know we need a big man.” Price lists the Mavericks‘ Daniel Gafford and the Nets‘ Nic Claxton as prime trade targets, while the Hawks‘ Clint Capela stands out as a top free agent target.
- The Kings announced six pre-draft workouts for Monday, June 2nd, reports Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). That list includes Marcus Williams from USF, Alijah Martin out of Florida, Chibuzo Agbo from USC, Texas’ Arthur Kaluma, David N’Guessan from Kansas State, and Daniel Batcho of Louisiana Tech. While a majority of the candidates are big men, Williams and Martin are both 6’2″ well-rounded guards. Martin is the only ranked player on ESPN’s Top-100 board from the group of candidates, coming in at 61, after averaging 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 36% from three.