“Kevin Durant Can Use Some Fresh Air”: Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce Clash on ‘KD to OKC’ Take

The Phoenix Suns are headed for yet another wasted season as they struggle to stay afloat for a play-in spot in the Western Conference. Their 22-21 record definitely proves that the ‘Championship or bust’ trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal has failed miserably. So Paul Pierce wants Durant to pull the plug on his Phoenix experiment and seek some fresh air in Oklahoma.

“KD can use some fresh air outta Phoenix,” Pierce declared on KG Certified. “You find a way, you can package Chet [Holmgren] up…bring [KD] back to OKC…you throw Chet in there…some first-round picks, some cats off the bench.”

However, Kevin Garnett wasn’t a fan of the move straight away. “That ain’t the way they [OKC] built though P…[the KD move] changes their whole dynamic, bro.”

Might be time to blow it all up in Phoenix

Kevin Durant could use a change a scenary, and Paul has just the spot for him to catch some fresh air pic.twitter.com/72pfa9fJqi

— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) January 24, 2025

KG feared that a shake up of the roster to add Durant might mess up the winning formula that has kept OKC on a roll. They are currently the first seed in the stacked West. So there seems to be no reason to sabotage their tandem for some wild hope of more firepower.

However, Pierce insisted that a KD move could really make the Thunder a title favorite. The 2008 NBA Finals MVP explained that Durant doesn’t require major changes in a team as someone like LeBron James demands. So he would be a nice fit beside SGA, somewhat tapping into that Golden State Warriors dynamic of 2016-17.

Additionally, he also pointed out that this would be a nice reunion for the veteran superstar with the team that drafted him, taking his career to a full circle.

But KG was still not convinced, and for obvious reasons. KD has been changing teams in search for a Championship since 2019 with little to no success. Garnett doesn’t want Oklahoma to end up as one of KD’s failed experiments, like Brooklyn and Phoenix.

The Thunder gathered some much needed postseason experience last year during their trip to the Conference Semifinals. So KG would much rather let the team get there organically instead of moving around heavy furniture.

However, KD will have reasons to take Pierce’s side.

KD loved his stint with the Thunder

During an interview last year, Kevin Durant claimed that he had the most fun in his career playing for the Thunder. “We were all young. We all came consecutive years, me , Russ [Westbrook], James [Harden], Serge [Ibaka] and then we just kept building from there. That probably is the most fun I had in the league,” KD told Sports Illustrated.

So it wouldn’t be surprising if he would prefer a trade to OKC in the dusk of his career. As Pierce said on KG Certified, the 36-year-old would bring some much-needed veteran leadership and Championship pedigree in the Thunder locker room.

OKC certainly has enough draft resources and depth to entice Phoenix into a trade. But the real question is whether they will be interested in an ageing superstar like KD, who has displayed a lack of enthusiasm to adjust to the team’s needs in the past.