The Phoenix Suns’ superteam experiment was an unmitigated disaster. The pre-season title favorites suffered an embarrassing 4-0 series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs and fired head coach Frank Vogel for it. Despite the disappointing performance, owner Mat Ishbia has promised to run it back with the same starting lineup next season.
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However, the team’s limited financial flexibility due to Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal’s $150 million wage bill suggests they could be tempted to trade one of the three for a suitable offer.
This prompted retired NBA star Jeff Teague to propose a blockbuster trade that would alter the NBA’s landscape. On the latest episode of the Club 520 podcast, the former Milwaukee Bucks star and the crew were discussing the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 1 over the Dallas Mavericks and pondered how OKC could improve their roster. Teague responded,
“[The Thunder] could get [Kevin Durant] if they wanted to… That’d be hard bro… KD at the 4, let Jaylin Williams go to the 3, Lou Dort, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander].”
DJ Wells pointed out that the Thunder have the resources to pull the move off and bring Durant back to OKC.
No team is better positioned to pull off a blockbuster trade than the Thunder. Per Sportac, they have $22 million in cap space and 11 first-round picks in the next four drafts, giving them the power to outbid any team in trade talks. They could test the Suns’ resolve with a massive offer for Durant and potentially bring him back to the franchise where he started his illustrious career.
The former MVP left the team in the 2016 offseason and infamously joined the Golden State Warriors, the team that beat the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. Durant leaving for the Warriors left a sour taste in the mouths of everyone affiliated with OKC. Thunder fans haven’t forgiven the forward and continue to show their disdain for their former star.
Kevin Durant gets introduced for Phoenix in his return to OKC. pic.twitter.com/1YEoLcGvVc
— Justin Martinez (@JTheSportsDude) March 30, 2024
However, as LeBron James showcased with his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a triumphant return and a title win can absolve Durant. It remains to be seen if the Thunder would even entertain the possibility of bringing him back to OKC.
DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t believe in fairytales
Kevin Durant returning to the team that drafted him and helping them win their maiden NBA title would be a fairytale ending to his incredible career. However, his former teammate DeMarcus Cousins believes it’d be a disastrous move. On the Bully Ball podcast, the former Warriors star said,
“If I’m Kevin Durant, I ride it out [with the Phoenix Suns]… It just doesn’t make sense to try to put a 36, 37-year-old guy into the mix of that [young Oklahoma City Thunder team]. So on paper, it doesn’t make sense. Now, if you want a fairy tale story or media have something to run with, it absolutely makes sense.”
While Teague believes Durant would be the final puzzle piece to help OKC win the title, Cousins isn’t convinced he’d fit on the youngest roster in the NBA. Neither player can be vindicated until the trade actually happens, but till then you can be sure to see speculations on KD’s future.
