The 36-year-old still put up monster numbers but the Suns' massive payroll is forcing them to cut costs The Phoenix Suns are exploring Kevin Durant trades after missing the playoffs, and the Miami Heat are the obvious partner. There will be several bidders for the all-time great scorer Trading Durant allows them to retool around Devin Booker He wants to spend his entire career in Phoenix and the franchise must keep a competitive roster around him The Suns' only shot of making that a reality is maximizing their return for KD and completely overhauling their team Phoenix needs to find a way to move Beal and put pieces that fit around Book The Heat have flirted with Kevin Durant for years, including making a run before the trade deadline. Miami thought the asking price was too rich and there is a desperate need on the other side Miami was destroyed by the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs They lost by an average of 30.5 points per game in the sweep and looked like a team that didn’t belong in the postseason after trading Jimmy Butler They lacked offensive firepower and struggled to trust their young talent Davion Mitchell earned his place in South Beach but the rest of the roster behind Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo was lacking They need a lights-out scorer to relieve the offensive pressure He is a better scorer than Jimmy Butler and instantly makes the Heat a dangerous team in the East but Miami would make the playoffs with a shot to win in round one The Heat do not have the assets to land Giannis Antetokounmpo which puts them squarely in the Durant sweepstakes They can trade three first-round draft picks and have young talents like Jaime Jaquez Jr The Suns have just two players under 25 years old on their roster so getting a couple of young pieces and draft picks is a must He is entering the final year of his contract and making $54.7 million It is a hefty price to pay for an aging superstar with a lengthy injury history The Phoenix Suns will trade Kevin Durant this offseason It should be all about maximizing their return and trying to build a competitive roster around Devin Booker The Miami Heat are the obvious trade partner for KD and the new front office should already be working on the deal that is enough to get the Suns out of their current mess © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Trading Durant allows them to retool around Devin Booker The Heat have flirted with Kevin Durant for years, including making a run before the trade deadline. Miami thought the asking price was too rich 1) 0ms;transition:background-color 150ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;transition:fill 120ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;font-size:inherit;}.css-v4v4rs{-webkit-user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;user-select:none;width:1em;height:1em;display:inline-block;fill:currentColor;-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;-webkit-transition:fill 120ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;font-size:inherit;}@media (min-width:0px){.css-v4v4rs{display:block;}}@media (min-width:1100px){.css-v4v4rs{display:none;}}.css-mps3fk{-webkit-user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;user-select:none;width:1em;height:1em;display:inline-block;fill:currentColor;-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;-webkit-transition:fill 120ms cubic-bezier(0.4 the Houston Rockets could pursue a win-now trade for the Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant On the podcast, MacMahon said the "Kevin Durant timeline thing" is a consideration for the front office. The Rockets and any other suitor have to look no further than Phoenix to see that having Durant on your roster guarantees little in the postseason The Suns lost in the Western Conference semifinals in 2023 got bounced in the first round in 2024 and then failed to even qualify for the Play-In Tournament this year Durant's contract only complicates the situation He's eligible for free agency a year from now so an extension will presumably accompany any trade The Rockets' future is still bright despite falling to the Golden State Warriors 103-89 on Sunday night But general manager Rafael Stone will know that making the wrong move can be disastrous, and that careful approach is reflected in the Rockets' stance on Durant. but their defense looked real enough to carry them further than pretty much everyone expected them to go I asked Udoka whether there was anything else he wanted to add He reiterated why having a top-five defense was “a nonnegotiable” component if this team was ever going to have championship-level aspirations Udoka made a slight pivot that didn’t end up in my story but hasn’t left the back of my head whenever I think about how compelling Houston’s circumstance is and what’s necessary for it to make an even deeper run in the future “We really wanted to solidify [defense] last year and I think we laid that foundation,” he said “But now we're really trying to get our offense going to kind of match that And so part of the challenge was to come in and change the numbers and perception last year on that side and as much as defense is second nature to me and we want to grow in that area and be formidable on both sides of the ball.” but Houston's offense hasn't quite caught up to its defense yet The Rockets finished with the fifth-stingiest defense in the NBA but had difficulty generating easy baskets on the other side a dilemma that manifested during a seven-game bar fight against the Golden State Warriors That first-round brawl ended as a microcosm of their identity and highlighted Udoka’s desire to find more balance It also leads us to the most important question these Rockets face as they head into what may be a trajectory-altering offseason: How do they become a dangerous offensive team who will emerge as the engine that’s able to power them where they want to go and is it potentially worth breaking up a core with such unknowable promise and the only team that made the playoffs with a lower true shooting percentage was the Orlando Magic The struggles were magnified in the postseason, when the Rockets were even less efficient in the half court, posting an effective field goal percentage that was higher only than that of the Magic and Grizzlies—which is not great when you realize Fred VanVleet turned into an actual fireball halfway through the series demonstrated by two putrid bookend performances in the opener and finale wherein they failed to score 90 points Alperen Sengun was particularly inefficient unable to enjoy some of the edge he had during the regular season every other play seemed like a Sisyphean bum rush to the boards; Houston’s formula wasn’t to make shots so much as to take them and then fight for the misses but it doesn’t necessarily make what happened a disaster Falling to Steph Curry and the Warriors in seven games is more of a learning experience than a deflating catastrophe the Rockets were outscored by only nine points while making a playoff-worst 63.2 percent of their free throws who had the two best players in the series all eyes will be on Rockets general manager Rafael Stone who almost has too many trade chips at his disposal Houston owns Phoenix’s first-round picks in 2025 Stone can either wait for some homegrown seeds to sprout or go into another garden and snatch up some flowers that have already bloomed Houston is ahead of schedule and still has time on its side The first domino to fall is VanVleet. Houston can (and should) decline the $44.9 million team option on its starting point guard’s contract and then extend him to a longer deal at a lower annual cost. The on-court and financial benefits of doing so are undeniable. FVV is 31 years old and undersized, and his true shooting was 6.5 percentage points below league average last season He’s also a respected leader who controls the game’s tempo and provides indispensable basketball IQ and toughness to the defense The Rockets are squishier without him: Their transition defense goes from elite to average when he’s off the floor re-signing Steven Adams is the next priority He will turn 32 in July but answered every health-related question this season with his play as a key complementary piece backing up Sengun and coming out of nowhere to form Twin Tower lineups that pulverized the offensive glass and anchored a 2-3 zone that held up much better than anyone could’ve expected Houston’s youth movement enjoyed highs and endured lows Green scored 38 points in a sensational Game 2 performance but looked unplayable in every big moment after that Sengun was a bowling ball against Golden State’s small frontcourt for meaningful stretches but wasn’t able to hit enough floaters or draw enough fouls Thompson’s nonexistent outside shot limited his impact off the ball Smith looked comfortable getting to his spots but isn’t a consistent source of offense Sheppard and Whitmore failed to crack Udoka’s rotation which brings us to the tantalizing flip side of this equation What will the Rockets do if Giannis Antetokounmpo or even someone like Lauri Markkanen becomes available Each of those names obviously has a different runway and ceiling and it’s impossible to know exactly who or what the Rockets would have to send out the door in any hypothetical trade that yields a new face for their franchise But plop any of those All-Stars into a defense-first ecosystem that just yielded the second-best record in the Western Conference and it’s easy to daydream about 60-win seasons assuming that Houston would have to surrender most of its most valuable trade capital to get the established All-NBA force it currently lacks their approach to the offseason could change completely Giannis or Durant would be incredible additions and the Rockets almost certainly would’ve defeated Golden State with one of those Hall of Famers on their roster But there’s a level of urgency that comes with accelerating your timeline to keep up with a superstar addition and it’s hard to know how much the Rockets would have to give up to pull off any of these trades Everyone worth getting is on a max contract that fills up at least 30 percent of the cap ArchiveWe’ve been around since Brady was a QB Giannis trade marketJalen Green's future with the Rockets is in question after the playoffs with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant trade rumors forming Jalen Green delivered Houston Rockets fans with a memorable performance in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors With the Rockets back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 Green scored 38 points with eight triples to pull off a 109-94 victory and even the series after Golden State had won Game 1 in Houston This appeared to be a pivotal moment not only in this series against the Warriors but for the Rockets' long-term future Although he scored just seven points in the first game of this series, Green had come into his own in Game 2 and looked to finally be Houston's top scoring option in the playoffs becoming the first Rockets player to score at least 30 points in a playoff game since James Harden did so in 2020 I couldn't really get a chance to settle in my legs were a little shaky,” Green admitted after his 38-point night [But] I feel like I did a good job of answering back.” All the momentum that the Rockets had squandered in Game 1 to the Warriors was taken right back and the Rockets appeared to have figured out the flow of their offense against Golden State resulting in Green's Game 2 performance being nothing more than a thing of the past followed by a 109-106 loss in Game 4 to fall into a 3-1 hole Green scored just 17 points combined in the two games While the Rockets were able to trounce the Warriors in Game 5 He then had only 12 points in the Rockets' 115-107 Game 6 win on the road facing elimination Despite Green's lackluster performances, Houston put itself in a position to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win this series against its bitter rivals On their home floor and Green having yet another chance to deliver it was time for the young guard to have his moment and truly become the star his organization believes he could be Green could redeem himself for all of his mishaps against the Warriors and keep the Rockets' playoff hopes alive with a grand performance in Game 7 in front of the rowdy Houston faithful as all of the success Houston found during the 2024-25 season was thrown out the door with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green reminding this organization of their playoff dominance The Rockets lost 103-89 in Game 7 on Sunday night resulting in them failing to make it out of the first round of the playoffs as the 2-seed in the West Although Houston was able to win two straight elimination games with great resilience and force a Game 7 at home, Golden State proved to be too much. Besides their championship experience and having two of the best closers in the league with Curry and Jimmy Butler, plus a shocking Buddy Hield performance the Rockets' lack of offensive playmaking was fatal in Game 7 More specifically, Green's disappearance after Game 2 loomed large Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet played at times in this series they couldn't lift the team past Golden State because Green was a no-show for all but one game in the series Green had 38 points in the Rockets' Game 2 win but combined for only 55 points in the other six games of this series, failing to score more than 12 points in any game. It was clear that Green's struggles directly resulted in Houston losing to the Warriors for real,” Green said before Game 6 on Friday “I had one game at the crib which was pretty good just gotta get back to being aggressive and stop overthinking.” But those were Green's problems that the Warriors consistently exposed: his lack of playoff experience and passive play on offense This was a prime opportunity for Green and the Rockets to prove that what they have been building over the last few seasons is sustainable Houston enters the offseason facing uncertainty about what its core should look like Green understands he played a role in his team coming up short against the Warriors and he recognized this in his postgame comments following the Game 7 loss on Sunday Rafael Stone and the Rockets' front office have done a fantastic job of assembling a young athletic roster that can matchup with basically any team in the league Head coach Ime Udoka then took this undisciplined squad and turned them into a real Green and Sengun are just two of the main high-potential players Houston has added in recent years. Thompson had a breakout season, and he was even better in this series against the Warriors still has a lot of room for growth as a stretch power forward yet Green's struggles in his first postseason are concerning given his inconsistencies throughout the 2024-25 season Green established himself as the Rockets' go-to scoring option there were times he would disappear on offense That constant back-and-forth of having good games and bad games left the Rockets feeling uneasy during the regular season Now that these scoring woes made their way to the playoffs Green's future is very much worth discussing was not how the Rockets envisioned their season ending It appeared as if they were on a similar path to that of the Thunder in terms of having a youthful group on the rise in the West Houston liked its odds despite falling into a 3-1 hole The only difference between the Thunder and Rockets is that Houston isn't fully committed to its roster as is there have been multiple instances of star players being linked to the Rockets this organization has a great history and winning culture Owner Tilman Fertitta picked Stone and Udoka to lead his team because he had a vision for becoming a true title threat once Harden left Stone has been a huge advocate for the young core he has built through the years It seemed like he made it evidently clear that the Rockets weren't having doubts about Green and Sengun last summer when both players received multi-year extensions Everyone has been on the same page internally about building a contending roster through the draft and that is what the Rockets have achieved Sengun made his first All-Star appearance this season and Green averaged over 20 points per game for the second time in his career It does not appear as if Houston is prepared to overreact from losing in the playoffs after not being there since 2020 there are obvious questions that will need to be answered about the team's financial position and whether now is the right time to leverage assets to improve their championship outlook Green signed a three-year, $105 million extension with the Rockets last summer to remain with the team through the 2027-28 season this contract extension came when external noise surrounding Houston pointed in the direction of the possible pursuit of star players There were some rumors about the Rockets potentially being interested in dealing Green to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges Bridges was then traded to the New York Knicks in a deal that involved multiple first-round picks and Fertitta are all at peace with the idea of continuing to build for the future this was the group's first playoff appearance together and they were on the verge of overcoming a 3-1 deficit to a team that has won four of the last 10 NBA Finals Udoka has also never once complained about what his young team is capable of achieving. He is of the mindset that there are multiple All-Star-level talents in development on this roster “We're all on the same page as far as what we have in our organization and wanting to see it through and seeing what all these young guys can become,” Udoka told Tim MacMahon of ESPN I understood when I came to take the job that we were going to try to develop these guys and see what we can get to I think they've all shown growth and potential who can be that consistent leader for us?” That is the big question that needs to be answered this summer in Houston While Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks have been the veteran leaders of the team neither player is perceived as a true “alpha.” The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers have Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard As good as it may sound to rattle off a few different names who can step up throughout a series that won't translate to postseason success for Houston Every successful team that goes on to win a championship has a clear sta they can play through at any moment in the game on offense and VanVleet have all had their moments of being “that guy” during the regular season Thompson seemed to be the only one to emerge as a star of the future as those 38 points Green scored in Game 2 were quickly forgotten when the Rockets walked off the court with their heads hanging low following the Game 7 loss to Golden State Stone and the Rockets have said multiple times that they believe in the group they've assembled and won't sacrifice a chunk of what they have built through the years when All-Stars become available in offseason trade talks But what happens when Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo are being brought up in connection with the Rockets this summer Giannis' future with the Milwaukee Bucks is certainly in question with Damian Lillard out due to an Achilles injury and his team losing in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year Durant will come up in plenty of offseason trade talks too after the Phoenix Suns danged him out in the open at the trade deadline This also won't be the first time Durant has heard his name come up in connection with Houston If there is a realistic path to landing either Antetokounmpo or Durant this offseason It is not surprising to see the Rockets being linked to Durant and Antetokounmpo before the offseason has even started Houston has always been an attractive destination for star players and that will be even more relevant coming off this seven-game series against the Warriors Thompson appears to be a two-way All-Star in the making and Sengun recently made his first All-Star appearance at 22 years old Can he step up and be the third horseman next to Thompson and Sengun to solidify the Rockets' future Perhaps the bigger question that needs to be answered is how long Houston is willing to wait on this young group before attempting to make a real championship move Durant is 36 years old and entering the final year of his contract While he seems to make a lot of sense as the veteran superstar for a team like the Rockets to invest in The Phoenix Suns have signaled to rival teams that they aren't going to be giving Durant away for any value they can get as Mat Ishbia understands any trade involving Durant instantly makes his rivals a contending threat That argument would be even more relevant if Ishbia and the Suns were to trade Durant to a Western Conference team Overall, the main reason Durant is being linked to the Rockets is because Stone stole a handful of the Suns' first-round picks in recent years Should the Rockets leverage some of the Suns' own picks and a player like Green in a package to land Durant Giannis is 30 years old and would fit the Rockets' long-term future much better than Durant His future is suddenly in question after the Milwaukee Bucks failed to make it out of the first round in the Eastern Conference for the third straight season Antetokounmpo would be the most pursued superstar on the trade market Houston would certainly be at the forefront of those trade rumors because the Bucks need youth and draft picks That is exactly what the Rockets have moving forward and now they must decide whether to pursue a big splash after this playoff series revealed some harsh truths It is obvious that Thompson and Sengun both need more time to truly come into their own as it relates to playoff excellence experience mattered in this first-round series against Golden State and the youth in both their starting lineup and on the bench showed signs of mental weakness late in the series and the good news is that the Rockets have plenty of it perhaps it makes more sense to sacrifice some of that time regarding Green and draft picks to pursue a player like Durant or Giannis The Rockets will enter the offseason with roughly $194 million in projected salaries That puts them right below the first apron with a decision to make about VanVleet's $44.8 million team option There is no doubt that the Rockets want to keep VanVleet for the foreseeable future but whether or not they will look to restructure his deal now is a key question that will be answered It is easy to overreact after playoff losses especially in a Game 7 after coming back down 3-1 to a team like the Warriors Houston truly believed it was going to win this series he did find other ways to impact the game and help extend the series to seven games This young core still has a lot of potential and Green could still be a huge part of the organization's success moving forward they wouldn't have been a 52-win team and claim the 2-seed in the West without the fourth-year guard continuing to improve Time is on the Rockets' side after losing in the first round of the playoffs but the question now becomes whether Stone and Fertitta will sacrifice time to try and escalate a championship window this young core has cracked open Green's future with the Rockets will loom large in Houston this offseason Brett Siegel is a credentialed NBA insider and reporter for ClutchPoints He previously covered the NBA for Fastbreak on SI FanNation and NBA Analysis Network Brett resides in New Jersey after receiving his degree from Louisville We definitely do not intend to change anything and I would be shocked if something changes this season," Stone said there's no part of our decision-making process that suggests that we're looking to do anything big now or in the near term." got Cleveland the sort of in-his-prime superstar that market would not normally have access to They took a risk that has clearly paid off That does not mean that every team needs to jump at the first star available to it Go ask Phoenix how that strategy has panned out but there's no shame in losing a Game 7 to Stephen Curry Depending on how the offseason goes for everyone else we've had six consecutive years with a different champion The best James teams, or Michael Jordan teams, or Stephen Curry teams, might have had close to a 50% chance at the championship. Now, more teams crack that 5% threshold every year, but none ever come close to the the dominance past teams were capable of. The league isn't built for that anymore. The rules and realities of the modern NBA are drastically tilted towards sustainability Think about where the Rockets would stand after a Durant trade They'd be in the 5% inner circle with a handful of other teams but they'd probably only have a year or two with him before he ages out of superstardom If it turns out that he doesn't fit with the incumbent roster you've lost whatever time it takes to make follow-up moves to fix that Or if some other team simply does a better job of going all-in at that moment and outplays you The meaningful asset expenditure you've made to get Durant hasn't netted a championship and the assets you could have used to win one down the line are gone This isn't meant to dismiss Durant entirely There's no harm and potentially quite a bit to gain They just ranked 27th in 3-point attempt rate and 21st in 3-point percentage Antetokounmpo is absolutely capable of being the best player on a championship team. No current Rocket can definitively say the say. But the championship team Antetokounmpo is capable of leading emphatically is not the Houston Rockets as they exist today. Amen Thompson is many things he's almost everything you could want in a young player How about the handful of similar current Rockets or the double-big construction that nearly toppled Golden State Are they just trade fodder for the new team they'd build on the fly The entire roster would need to be remade to suit him Every additional needed step introduces new things that can go wrong reasonably successful Rockets team as little more than a piggy bank to be smashed open and cashed out for Antetokounmpo and a handful of new veterans that support him Do you really want to sell low on him after 654 minutes Do you want to sell low on a team as a whole that is clearly ahead of schedule and might be on track for true championship contention without major intervention and the Rockets should be quite eager to take advantage of that the Rockets could probably afford to think even bigger Wouldn't you like the flexibility to opportunistically pursue the right star rather than the one who happens to be available at the time They are the rare team that is ever in a position to do so They aren't constrained by their assets either They will have the chips to outbid practically anyone for the player of their choosing in the coming years They can afford to build whatever sort of team under whatever sort of timeline they want How many franchises are ever in a position to do that one that shouldn't be squandered by jumping the gun Just because the Rockets could compete for the 2026 title with a big splash doesn't mean they need to they could set themselves up to win for a decade or more They could avoid the risks associated with going all-in on a short window and keep themselves in the 5% club for the longest period possible It could change in an instant if the right player hits the market or it could change on the fly next season or beyond based on what their incumbent players do But that restaint Stone showed this season is what makes the Rockets such a scary proposition to the rest of the league He's patient enough not to force the wrong trade that sets him up to eventually make the right one That's what happened though when the Rockets faced the Warriors Vegas proved yet again that it's usually right There were a lot of reasons for the Rockets' early exit Jalen Green disappeared all but one of the 7 games Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson had their moments in the series but both also had some lackluster performances sprinkled in too And Fred VanVleet couldn't continue his heroics forever All of that points to the same issue that we've always known about this roster there isn't the guy that stirs the drink for an offense that ranked 12th during the regular season and 23rd in effective field goal percentage Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp and they have a ton of assets at their disposal to get better quickly While most contenders get good by maxing out their free agency dollars and draft picks the Rockets weren't even in the luxury tax this year and don't project to be next year either That keeps them out of those pesky apron rules that make trades so difficult to pull off Houston also has the enviable combination of both draft picks and young prospects at their disposal They control of all of their future first-rounders and also have a juicy 2027 first-round pick from the Suns who will probably be pretty bad when that conveys That puts them in the running for pretty much any player in the league that becomes available and some of the best kolaches in the country Here are the players that could make the Rockets an instant contender next year MORE: Who the Lakers could target to complement Luka Everyone knows Kevin Durant is Phoenix leaving this summer. There's already a ton of smoke that he will land in Houston, with ESPN's Shams Charania reporting that they have a "level of mutual interest" in working together He would have made one of the All-NBA teams had he not narrowly missed the 65-game requirement The Rockets need a guy who can create offense late in the shot clock and there still might not be a player better at that than him Durant is going to be an elite shot maker until the day he retires and he canned 43 percent of his 3's last year while scoring 26.6 points per game but he can provide some weak side rim protection and rebounding Alperen Sengun established himself as the Rockets' best player He or Thompson would be the piece that the Suns would want back Phoenix owes so many of its picks that tanking isn't really an option for them They need young guys who can contribute and keep the team halfway decent in order to prevent Devin Booker from asking out too Houston might be able to get Durant without having to give either of those guys up The market for Durant may not be as robust as it seems given that he makes $54.7 million and might seek an even bigger deal when he enters free agency in the summer of 2026 The Rockets might be able to land Durant by including a package of Green MORE: Updated NBA Playoffs schedule It's going to take a lot more to get Giannis Antetokoumnpo than it would Durant and he's under contract for at least one more year MORE: Breaking down Giannis Antetokounmpo trade destinations The Bucks haven't started shopping Giannis yet, but it's only a matter of time. Damian Lillard's Achilles injury drops their chances of contending next year down to zero then the Rockets should be ready to pounce The fit between Giannis and Sengun would be tricky and the spacing on the floor wouldn't be ideal Thompson is the worst shooter out of all three One of Thompson or Sengun would have to go out in this trade then the Rockets would form one of the nastiest defenses in the league They would be a top two defense with Giannis who isn't the DPOY caliber player that he was several years ago but is still a top 20 defender in the league Sengun occupies the same spaces that Giannis likes to work in and Giannis is also underrated in that area Giannis could also provide cover for Sengun who is a decent rim protector but doesn't move his feet well and Whitmore would be a reasonable starting point to work from The Rockets could also throw in three of their five tradeable first-rounders but other teams are going to put forth their best offer once the Giannis floodgates open He is very easily still good enough to be the best player on a championship team The last point of order for the Rockets is what to do with Fred VanVleet who has a team option for a whopping $44.9 million he'd be making $6 million more than Cade Cunningham under that figure The Rockets will probably decline that option and try to bring VanVleet back on a cheaper deal Somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million annually sounds right for the 31-year-old veteran That would put him in the same range of other guards like CJ McCollum They could also exercise his option and use him for matching salary if needed VanVleet has been a terrific leader for the Rockets The gritty guard finds ways to be a positive defensive contributor at just 6 feet tall and routinely bailed their offense with tough shot making Houston should make it a priority to bring him back Stephen Noh started writing about the NBA as one of the first members of The Athletic in 2016 both through big outlets and independent newsletters for six years before joining The Sporting News in 2022 Stephen is also an avid poker player and wrote for PokerNews while covering the World Series of Poker from 2006-2008 After finishing the 2024-25 season with a 30-52 record and missing the playoffs for the third straight year the franchise is searching for its next defining move.  the Raptors could make their boldest play yet going all-in for the former MVP and creating a Big Three capable of shaking up the Eastern Conference.  Much like their audacious gamble in 2019 when they traded for Kawhi Leonard and won their first championship, Masai Ujiri and the front office have the draft capital, young talent, and recent history to justify swinging big again. With Kevin Durant turning 37 but still among the league's elite scorers this could be Toronto's chance to vault back into contention and perhaps rewrite NBA history once more Let’s call it what it is: frightening and Brandon Ingram would instantly vault the Raptors from Eastern Conference afterthoughts to legitimate contenders. Durant may be 36 going on 37 but he’s still producing at an elite clip.  and 4.2 assists per game on a pristine 52.7% shooting from the field and 43.0% from deep who just averaged 22.2 points and 5.2 assists before and after arriving in Toronto midseason who blossomed into a two-way monster with 19.3 points forming a Big Three that can hang with Boston’s Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown-Kristaps Porzingis trio or Jalen Brunson-Karl-Anthony Towns-Mikal Bridges trio in New York Durant also fits perfectly with Toronto’s timeline KD gives this team an immediate "win-now" engine And let’s not forget: Durant’s playoff resume is glittering with two Finals MVPs and a history of rising in the biggest moments which ranked bottom five this past season (25th desperately needs his efficient shot-making to unlock new levels a 6’10” rookie big man with real defensive promise and the Raptors even get a developmental piece in the deal this trade signals that Toronto is done playing it safe when they rolled the dice on Kawhi Leonard and got a parade out of it and Durant spacing the floor and closing games this trio would instantly become the scariest wing combo in the East.  the Suns finally restock their asset cabinet while picking up two young proven starters in Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett both of whom are under 26 years old and entering their primes averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 37.8% from deep numbers that suggest he’s ready to take over as a full-time lead guard looked rejuvenated after his move to Toronto this season bumping his scoring to 21.1 points per game on 46.8% shooting in his Raptors stint He brings the physicality and slashing ability that Phoenix has sorely missed on the wing especially with their overreliance on mid-range jumpers from Durant and Devin Booker.  dynamic backcourt duo that could better complement Booker and allow the Suns to rediscover a more balanced offensive identity And that 2028 first-round pick from Toronto especially as Durant ages and the Raptors’ window tightens Suns fans will mourn the end of the Durant experiment and future picks; they need to get younger and cheaper while staying competitive and Barrett/Quickley providing immediate scoring punch the Suns can stay relevant in the West while also setting themselves up for a new era beyond the failed superteam approach History has a funny way of repeating itself in Toronto. Back in 2019, the Raptors shocked the league by flipping franchise favorite DeMar DeRozan for an uncertain and Masai Ujiri could be cooking up another version of that same gamble: Durant may not be in his prime but his scoring genius and championship pedigree offer Toronto a similar one-to-two-year title window Raptors fans are starved for relevance again This trade would immediately put Toronto back in every national conversation Barnes-Durant-Ingram would be mentioned alongside Boston Scotiabank Arena would sell out every night and opposing teams would circle Toronto on their calendars again By Eddie Bitar is a senior staff writer at Fadeaway World renowned for his insightful blend of sports journalism with economic and financial expertise Eddie has been with Fadeaway World since 2017 leveraging his academic foundations—a Bachelor’s degree from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Master’s in Finance from Utrecht University—to pioneer a statistical analysis approach in basketball writing celebrated for making complex data accessible and engaging often appears in major outlets like Sports Illustrated offering readers a unique perspective on the NBA through the lens of economics "use strict";var loc=window.location.href;document.querySelectorAll("div[data-spotim-module='conversation']").forEach(function(el){el.setAttribute("data-post-url",loc)});NewsletterStay up to date with our newsletter on the latest news 2 seed in the first round to the Golden State Warriors Sunday there are a lot of questions as to what the Houston Rockets will do this offseason to improve Houston is stocked with a ton of young talent but its lack of a star scorer who could take over games and take pressure off of their other players really shone through in the playoffs After the Rockets traded with the Brooklyn Nets for a 2025 Suns pick swap 2027 Suns first-rounder and a first-rounder and swap in 2029 with Phoenix last summer Houston now seems like a top destination for Suns superstar Kevin Durant Brooklyn originally acquired the draft capital from the Suns in exchange for Durant in Feb The Rockets have been known to be more fond of Devin Booker because he would fit their timeline better but the Suns have made it clear they will not be moving on from Booker Durant seems like he would provide exactly what the Rockets need and Houston has enough young talent that aren’t even its featured players such as Tari Eason Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard that it could package next to Fred VanVleet or Dillon Brooks along with a couple picks to retain most of its rotation in a potential Durant trade There are going to be several teams who inquire about Durant, but the fit and package the Rockets offer makes them the top potential trade destination. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on April 16 that there was a “level of mutual interest” between the Rockets and Durant If Houston truly wants to get a deal done and Durant wants to go Houston The only potential roadblocks would be if the Rockets come out and say they don’t want an older player like Durant or Houston is set on trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo who will likely be available for trade after the Milwaukee Bucks lost in the first round for the third-straight year will have a lot of questions to answer this offseason after a 36-46 season but their biggest potential move will be with Durant and the Rockets appear to be the leaders of the pack after an early playoff exit Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates they are poised to trade for a superstar.  Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant stand out as their two best and the Rockets' front office will likely spend plenty of time debating which player fits in best with their core USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) defends against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) at Footprint Center On paper, a starting lineup of Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun is better on both ends of the floor than the same lineup with Durant although Rockets fans will have to confront an unfortunate reality.  The Bucks, if they openly shop one of the top three players in the world, could demand back either Sengun or Thompson to build around. The Dallas Mavericks trading away Luka Doncic made fans forget just how expensive superstars can be Swapping their focus to the Phoenix Suns might be the better call for the Rockets By parting ways with players like Jalen Green and perhaps even Reed Sheppard (as well as draft picks) the Rockets could largely keep their core intact while adding Durant Chasing an MVP finalist in Giannis sounds great on paper, but a trade with the Suns is simply more realistic, especially if the Rockets decide to hold onto both Sengun and Thompson, which the Bucks might not stand for.  Check out the Inside the Suns homepage for more news and has been writing for Athlon since 2023 now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June Even if the weaknesses for the Suns were glaring from that start the hope was that they had enough star power to make up for it and now they enter the offseason with multiple stars and not much hope Devin Booker and Bradley Beal sounds difficult to slow down in theory They hired Mike Budenholzer to take over as the head coach last summer Bud was only given one season before Matt Ishbia decided to move on Phoenix will have their fourth head coach in four seasons Booker and Durant and successful individual seasons they missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons and they don’t even have their own draft pick to regain some hope for the future they won’t have control of their own first-round pick until 2032 Ishbia went all in on building this team like a video game GM would or like a dynasty manager that joins a league and trades all of their picks to win just to leave after two seasons The difference here is that Ishbia didn’t get any rings and he now has to make moves to drag this team out of the mud but there will likely be some major changes this offseason Booker’s points per game and field goal percentage took slight hits this season he set a new career high for assists per game and still provided third-round value in nine-cat leagues which was his highest total since he played 78 games during the 2016-17 season and even with all the uncertainty in Phoenix 7.1 assists and 2.4 triples in 37.3 minutes per game this season His field goal percentage dropped from 49.2 percent during the 2023-24 season to 46.1 percent this year but it bumped him down about a round of value in nine-cat leagues there shouldn’t be any concern for Booker moving forward there won’t be any that can take the ball out of his hands Booker will continue to be a fantasy stud moving forward Dunn was one of the few glimmers of hope for the future in Phoenix Dunn quickly showcased an improved jumpshot which was his biggest weakness entering the draft 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 threes in 19.1 minutes per game across 74 appearances the defensive production didn’t translate during his first season in the NBA Dunn was in and out of the starting unit throughout the season but he was a consistent starter for the final month Dunn has the tools to be a true stud in category leagues The Suns will continue to try and build a winner around Booker and Dunn fits in well as a two-way forward that doesn’t need the ball in his hands often His points were the fewest he has averaged in a season since the 2014-15 season though not by much over the course of the year What made this season so disappointing was that there were still flashes but he also had nine games where he scored less than 10 points Beal’s days of averaging 30 points per game are behind him and he seems content with the no-trade clause in his contract that will pay him nearly $54 million next season He played well down the stretch of the 2023-24 season so there was hope that he could carry that success into this past season Beal could take on a larger role next season it’s difficult to imagine Beal returning to All-Star form 1.2 blocks and 2.6 triples per game in 62 appearances He wasn’t able to match his 75 games played from the previous season but it was still more than he had played in any other season since he suited up 78 times in his final season with the Warriors Durant will be 37 at the start of next season it’s difficult to imagine him not wanting to be in the playoffs next season but they likely won’t be able to build a contending team next year It seems likely that Durant will be playing elsewhere and there should be plenty of suitors in the bidding war No team will make a deal for Durant with the intention to make him sacrifice his touches; KD will be brought in to be KD given his age and injury history over the past half-decade there aren’t many players more productive than Durant when he is on the floor Brought in to be the starting point guard for the Suns but he wasn’t effective enough in the role to benefit the team 5.3 assists and two triples in 26.8 minutes per game His numbers dropped across the board after enjoying the best season of his career last year with the Wizards Jones is productive when he’s on the floor but Phoenix felt that the team was better when Jones wasn’t starting but he was mostly in a reserve role after the All-Star break He averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 assists in 19.8 minutes per game in 23 bench appearances The hope here is that his next coach will feel better about having Jones in the starting unit whether that’s with the Suns or a different team Allen wasn’t given the same opportunity under new head coach Mike Budenholzer He played just 24.1 minutes per game and averaged 10.6 points but he simply didn’t get enough of an opportunity to repeat his incredible 2023-24 season 3.9 assists and 3.7 threes in 30.2 minutes per game as a starter If the next head coach decides to make him a starter Allen will be an appealing option in the later rounds of drafts that may not be made clear until closer to opening night Phoenix acquired Richards at the trade deadline to be the starting center after Jusuf Nurkic didn’t work out 8.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 22.7 minutes per game but he was largely a disappointing band-aid down low Richards had some success as a starter when Mark Williams was injured with the Hornets he should enter next season as the starting center for the Suns though it wouldn’t be surprising if they found a better option to fill that role If he makes it through the offseason with nobody taking his job Richards will have some late-round appeal next year Martin was part of the Richards/Nurkic swap but he didn’t end up suiting up for the Suns until mid-March He only made 14 appearances for them and averaged 3.7 points 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.7 minutes per game He played a total of 35 games across the previous two seasons but was healthy prior to being traded to Phoenix He had some productive stretches with Charlotte this season but he never got the opportunity with the Suns A healthy offseason should give him a better chance to be a legit rotation piece for Phoenix next season After starting off the season at the end of the bench Gillespie ended up playing a significant role over the final month of the season Gillespie played 22.7 minutes per game and averaged 8.9 points He’s set to be a restricted free agent after playing on a two-way contract this year He did enough to likely earn a standard contract but regardless of where he plays next season he may not play as many minutes as he did down the stretch of this year O’Neale was a part-time starter for Phoenix and had some strong stretches as a role player He fit well with the stars and provided some optimism at times There were games where he would play a significant role and pour in the three-pointers and then there were games where he would play less than 15 minutes and contribute next to nothing O’Neale will continue to be a solid veteran but his impact in fantasy will continue to be a minimal one Aside from a month-long stint from mid-February to mid-March Bol was at the end of the bench for most of the season He made 10 starts last season and averaged 12.5 points but the 25-year-old hasn’t found a consistent role since being drafted in the second round in 2019 he’ll look for a situation where he can play more than he did in Phoenix He certainly could return under a new head coach but if he finds a team that wants to play him consistently he has the skillset to be a strong contributor in category leagues Ighodaro ended up playing a significant role as a rookie despite being a second-round pick 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 17.1 minutes per game Ighodaro split time at center with Nick Richards and Mason Plumlee Ighodaro could end up as the backup center behind Richards next season That won’t be a large enough role for managers in one-year leagues to be excited but it will make him worth keeping an eye on in dynasty formats A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome PHOENIX — Picking a defining Kevin Durant highlight from his two-plus seasons with the Phoenix Suns isn’t easy In January 2024, he hit a winning jumper against the Chicago Bulls, hanging in the air like Michael Jordan. In February, he scored his 30,000th career point a milestone only seven other NBA players have reached he scored 19 fourth-quarter points to complete a rally against the Los Angeles Clippers Durant has scored 3,887 points in 145 regular-season games for the Suns On March 7, the Suns trailed the Denver Nuggets 125-122 with 1.4 seconds left in regulation. Suns forward Royce O’Neale inbounded from the right side Center Nick Richards held up three fingers Point guard Collin Gillespie clenched a fist The Suns posted a photo of this on social media Sitting at his locker before a recent game “I had my hand up before he even shot the ball,” he said HE’S KEVIN DURANT. YOU KNOIW WHO HE IS. pic.twitter.com/m5AKJXGNxx — Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 8, 2025 The veteran point guard — out that day with a back issue — started yelling open in the corner,” Morris said at his locker That’s what Durant has brought throughout his career just about the one thing fans could count on every night he averaged 26.6 points per game with shooting percentages of 52.7 percent from the field and 43 from 3-point range In the third quarter of a March 30 home loss to the Houston Rockets, Durant grabbed a defensive rebound and took off. After slowing to reset the offense, he accelerated into the lane and stepped on the foot of Houston forward Jabari Smith Jr., spraining his left ankle Phoenix is the league’s biggest disappointment. A team with the league’s highest payroll failed to make the Play-In Tournament Owner Mat Ishbia is expected to make major changes his left ankle makes for depressing bookends After getting traded to the Suns from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2023 trade deadline Durant played three road games before returning to Arizona Durant turned his left ankle during pregame warmups a mishap that sidelined him for three weeks he suffered the same injury near the same exact spot against Houston It’s not the full circle anyone had in mind Evaluating what happened between sprains is difficult They went from losing in the Western Conference semifinals to eventual champ Denver two years ago to losing in the first round to Minnesota last year against a short-handed Clippers team in 2023 a three-time All-Star who had twice averaged 30 points per game The idea was to build around a “Big Three” of Durant but it always looked better on paper than it did on the court And as a second-apron team with the league’s most expensive roster the Suns were limited in how they could make roster changes Excellence and expectations go hand-in-hand he was honest in discussing how he was blindsided to learn that the Suns had considered moving him to Golden State asking why a certain question was asked or why it was phrased in a certain way In October, Durant appeared on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams the two discussed a statue the Miami Heat had recently unveiled of former Heat star Dwyane Wade highly doubt I’ll get a statue of me put anywhere for playing basketball,” Durant said Adams suggested Durant was just saying this because of the public reaction to how Wade’s statue had turned out … There’s very few players who get that type of love in a city like that It’s usually those guys who got the Hall-of-Fame career with the championships and have been with one city for a long time taking the Thunder to the NBA Finals before leaving and signing with Golden State He helped the Warriors win two championships Durant’s time in Brooklyn is mostly remembered for his recovery from an Achilles injury Its fans have embraced superstars in the past adding what it believed was the final piece to a championship puzzle He led the Suns to an NBA-best 62 regular-season wins The rest of Barkley’s time here wasn’t as pleasant He forced his way out of town after four seasons but they inducted Barkley into their Ring of Honor because of what Barkley did They would’ve done the same for Durant had he dribbled a similar path (Top photo of Kevin Durant: Chris Coduto / Getty Images) The 2025 offseason is a big one for the Miami Heat Nearly three months after trading Jimmy Butler in a five-team blockbuster they finished with their worst record in a decade and were embarrassed in the first round of the postseason against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers They have been a play-in team for the last three regular seasons but it’s now it’s time to pick a direction as we transition into a new phase According to former 15-year NBA veteran and three-time champion Danny Green the direction is clear: Swing for the fences and go for a star “They don’t have much to give,” Green said. “But their best bet is to try and find a big star in the offseason that’s a guy that they were trying to get before who is going to be out for next season The only guys they really can get are Giannis and KD … But it’s hard to get Giannis with the pieces you have Milwaukee is not going to want Terry Rozier or Davion Mitchell It seems impossible because they’re going to have to give up Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro.” The worst kept secret in the NBA is that Durant’s likely played his last game in Phoenix who missed the playoffs entirely and will have their fourth head coach in four years He has just one more year left on his deal ($54.7M) but will eligible for a two-year extension worth over $120 million Antetokounmpo’s future with Milwaukee is less concrete Damian Lillard will likely miss the entirety of the season with a torn achilles; Gary Trent Jr. Taurean Prince and Brook Lopez will all be free agents; Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton all have player options Antetokounmpo still has three more years left on his contract worth $54.1M He’s easily going to command a larger haul than Durant the Heat would likely have to trade Bam Adebayo (among several others)–which would be a problem because Antetokounmpo would probably want to play with him Acquiring Durant is more feasible. However, as I outlined in the offseason preview I don’t think that’s a route the Heat should go–which is where I differ from Green You make a move for Durant in the latter stages of his career if you’re one piece away While Miami underperformed with the sum of its parts this season Miami’s far more than one piece away It was at least one piece away with Jimmy Butler Any move for the 37-year-old Durant would gut the team of any sustainable supporting cast and future assets when its ceiling doesn’t match that of Boston or Cleveland–the two teams you need to get past in the East Building a top-heavy roster also limits you to a 2-3 year window which wouldn’t make sense to limit yourselves to if you’re not a contender but I don’t see a world where they can acquire him To check out our other content, click here Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here Subscribe to our YouTube channel here chales barkley is great pn tv but he should stop picking which team is gonna win i hope pat at least tried to get russ if not hes clueless 99 66 WTF james hardens team has to have 66 Miami could be in an excellent position to move forward with it’s rebuild and have money and assets that can be used to pursue an A+ or A player Miami could conceivably be able to acquire more than one A+ or A player Miami fans should be viewing it with much anticipation and optimism unless trades can be made that will improve the team while not negatively impacting it’s overall ability to shed expiring contracts here’s a few hypothetical trades to chomp on Just throwing them out there for discussion purposes only Wiggins and Larsson ($29.2) for RJ Barrett ($27.7M) Highsmith and Jovic ($36.7M) for Ja Morant ($36.7M) Ware and Jaquez ($63.9M) for Sabonis and DeRozan ($63.2M) Wiggins and Jaquez ($29.62M) for Dejounte Murray ($29.53M) Larsson ($7.3M plus pick) for Jaden Ivey ($7.97M) Anderson and Larsson ($36.2M) for Michael Porter Jr ($35.9M) Bam and young players only in trades for better players Young players can be added to trades which dups veteran contracts “And think not you can direct the course of love “And think not you can direct the course of a whale Translation: As long as the Heat is not worthy If Golden State loses Game 7 after being up 3-1 their season will be a bigger failure than Miami’s Playoff eliminations sting much more when you are projected to challenge for the title and wind up choking in the first round instead He must have read Jimmy Butler’s bestseller: The Art of Quiet Quitting if curry has an off night which is few and far between gsw has no shot.i just need one more of those on sunday please dont think so when u set the record for losing by the most ever in playoff series u are a friggin joke.as long as curry and jimmy are balling they are miles ahead of ty n bam Jimmy Butler trying to win a Game-7 on the road Duncan Robinson ain’t walking through that door This is not a time for desperation or impulsive moves in order for Riley to save face contemplation and strategic preparation for the future Miami could conceivably have a solid 8-9 man rotation It could also have cap space for one A+ or A player who could be acquired as an unrestricted or restricted free agent via straight up trade or via a sign & trade One or more of the younger players could be included in a trade package for an A+ or A player or in trades for other players anyone (with the possible exceptions of Bam or Ware) can be up for discussion if the right opportunity comes along The bottom line is Miami is the master of it’s own destiny Management has all the ingredients needed to turn the ship around by 2026-2027 it may take years for the team to fully recover and again be relevant in the NBA I would move Mitchell in the backup point guard role position but playing him big minutes so I believe we need a starting point guard JJJ and one or two of two others heavy minutes from the bench Getting rid of vets will be a long process which will bring other players back and not much other I believe most of those vets will sit out their contracts on the Heats bench Smith and Stevens compete for starting PG and keep one as a back-up The Heat should not trade for a point guard who will only be taking away valuable playing time from the 3 above The objective of 2025-2026 is not to win as many games as possible and fight for another play-in spot but to shed salaries and provide experience to our younger players trade them or let them sit until next year when their contracts expire At least 3 of them are tradeable for a crappy player on an expiring contract (who will sit at end of the bench) and a second rounder No that’s not the only option what about rebuilding trading herro and bam for younger pieces and before you bash that idea they both were on a team that got blew tf out by 55 in a close out game set the record for franchise playoff losses by points…..also one was a focal point of the other teams gameplan to attack lmao Hothothoopsfan4life…King of the Trolls Just like y’all agree with Sunman like everything he says is golden He wants to basically run it back for a 7th season while banking on 2026 like who knows what can happen by then What if the major players from that 26 FAs resign for another deal with their current teams this year Why not trade your two players that bring you back the most value rn I mean I saw 13 and 14 on the court quitting that last game while they were blown out and only 1 player bothered to show up I also heard Darius garland say out his own mouth that the cavs gameplan was to attack a sorry defender in herro I’d rather rebuild than watch those two step foot on the heats court again Preach about it’s not in Riley’s dna and culture but lose by 37 and 55 points in the last two games of the season again setting a franchise playoff losses record btw Y’all have no rebuttals just name calling and a willingness to run it back for an unpredictable future gamble lmao Cause they gonna wanna play with those two who they just saw lose by said deficit tyler lets in as many as he scores.bams top 5 defender but when is he going to up his offensive game is it because he cant or just lack of effort or caring to be great.hes a frustrating player bam we saw glimpses of shake n bake bam for a few weeks but them back to being bam.bam def has value herro doesnt i believe Why would you respond to me saying ‘y’all agree with Sunman…..’ Maybe if you read my comments you’d see how many times SM and I disagree on something You also know I have agreed with you on some points suggesting that I always agree with anyone here is just bulls**t https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b_-ROn8ak5M As long as they agree with you. And I have agreed with him. He and I were both for getting the lottery pick. You said fk lottery picks. Even a broken clock is right two times a day. Like my ex-wife, it’s not always what he says, it’s how he says it. Talk to him privately heat and let him know how you were able to overcome the habit. Oh wait. hes a little negative but after that cleve series he has right to be,the only thing i disagree with hot hoops is taking shots at u.dude sounds like he knows hoops but is he truly a heat fan is what id like to know All true Heat fans want is for the team to be successful. We all have different and evolving opinions on the best way(s) for the team to succeed. I probably post the most detailed comments and can understand why someone would not agree with everything I post. Some of it relates to articles I’ve seen (which I don’t always agree with) and some are my own personal thoughts and opinions. It’s all to help trigger thoughts, comments and opinions by HHH followers. My posts are not meant to be an invitation for personal attacks. When that happens, I have a tendency of responding in-kind. As you have seen, I can be a little rough on people who think they can get away with unprovoked attacks without consequences and repercussions. Yes, they got blew out this season. But they were in NBA finals and east finals not that long ago. So, they cant be that bad. I m not saying, that they shouldn’t be traded. I m saying, they they should be traded for better players, not young players or picks. We already have enough of those. Tyler didn’t play in the finals and tbh bam the only player who showed up during that finals I’ll give you that, but it’s a what have you done for me lately league and where do we have enough young athletic players or picks? We don’t have the assets besides those two and ware which they shouldn’t trade We will have Jovic, JJJ, Pelle, Ware, Johnson, Stevens, Christopher, and draftee under 25. Thats a lot young players to develop. None of them is finished product, they need to play another season at least to see what we have there. I dont think we need more, unless there a better young players available to replace them. Three, maybe four of those will form a young core moving forward, or be used in trades for a whale. Exactly. We can always use younger, better players. We also need the time to fully develop and evaluate them to determine if they have long-term potential. It makes sense to trade the players who are on expiring contracts in 2025-2026, if possible. It also makes sense to play the youngsters, to the extent possible. Meanwhile, we have a draft pick in 2025 and another in 2026 who will need to be developed and evaluated. Miami should know by next summer which of it’s current young core it wants to keep, trade or release. This is an evolving process that should hopefully begin showing positive results in 2025-2026. So many people thought Butler was just washed or injury prone. Even in a loss, his 27/9/8 and his hustle and energy tonight and since he went to the Warriors shows how deliberate his poor effort here was. disgusting what a pos he is.just tell pat u want out but in the meantime bust it.how can any of his teammates respect him.i hope they lose game 7.btw in the 4th qtr he was gassed missing everything rc I agree. If he said he wanted out privately before the season, we could’ve gotten a lot more for him. He’s also limping around the court in a first round series. I remember the Finals run from the 7-seed when he was amazing against Milwaukie. He got injured against he Knicks and limped through the rest of the playoffs. Caleb Martin was the MVP of the ECF, whether he won the award or not. I also remember him getting hurt during the play-in against the Sixers, and missing the playoff series against the Celtics. He also missed most of last season, which was a big reason the Heat were in the play-in to begin with. I remember Riley saying that if he wanted a max extension, he was worth it, he just needed to prove he could stay on the court. Then he missed most of this season with injuries and suspensions. So yeah, he’s playing well. But he’s hurt, and he’s limping, and it’s just round 1. I’ll never question his skill or his heart. But I do question his ability to stay healthy. So does Riley. That’s why he didn’t want to give Jimmy a max extension It’s called money + extension + someone willing to kiss his @$$! Better coach rn udoka or spo up for debate if you ask me depends on the players u give them.houston has young studs .2 bigs.theyve suked forever id hate to go thru all those lean years We can discuss after Udoka wins a couple of titles. Until then, it’s not even close. He could have already had two in Boston, but that is another matter all together. Bam Adebayo is set to make $202.4 million over the next four years with the Heat: I can tell you with 100% certainty that the Blazers would pay that in a heartbeat So would at least half the teams in the NBA. bams a nice complimentary player.hes paid like a ss which hes not.good player bad contract.thats how u get in trouble overpaying guys There are a ton of guys in the NBA getting paid more than they are worth. Not many of them are better defenders, more versatile or better for team chemistry than Bam. Likewise, there are a ton of players being underpaid (mostly still on rookie contracts). Note: This coning season Bam is being underpaid @ $37,096,620. You can argue he will be overpaid beginning in 2026-2027 when his extension kicks in @ $51,935,268, with $56,090,089 in 2027-2028 and $60,244,920 in 2028-2029. Who knows, if the right trade comes along, he could be gone before then. It’s the going rate these days. He would get that anywhere, so it’s not actually a bad contract. Teams are now looking at extensions at about $70 million per season. I partially agree with you. my only hesitation to agree 100% is because that’s what we all said at the end of last season I think this is different. At the end of last season, we still technically had Butler, our A level player. We had Rozier, who had been coming on in the weeks before his injury and scoring 16 ppg overall. At that point, a little tweak or 2 might have been enough. If Butler played this season for us like he is playing for GS, we probably would be no lower than the 4-6 seed. This season needs a total overhaul. after that 57pt beatdown who the f is gonna want to come here,dwade no longer here to recruit for us For the reasons we’ve explained to you about a million times and won’t be repeated again by me. If it’s a trade, the players don’t have much choice. only guy teams would want bam overrated ab u were high on dunc from day 1.u think guys want to come here now i wish they did but no anybody who didnt like the rozier signing is either lying or not heat fan.if he played to his standard we might still have quitter ands still be playing right now.im still spo scratching my head as to what happened to the gambler. heat culture ? play with ss? win a ring? which one i forgot guys came here to play with d wade period end of story rc.why d wades not in fo with sunman is a mickey scratcher I superstar wont pick a team which just lose for 50 in the PO. Heat needs so me basic infrastructure first, then a superstar. Greek is that, KD is not. u put antman on heat i might meet rc this summer in july..well maybe not this summer but in 26 27 good chance LoL. what a brilliant take. You think the Heat should try to get Giannis. No wonder they put him on TV. This guy is playing 4-D chess. Realistically, the Heat don’t have the trade chips for a guy like Giannis. If they really want to do a move like that, they need to trade Bam and Herro for draft picks and expiring contracts, build through the draft, and just try to keep adding Ware and Jaquez level players until the next superstar becomes available. I doubt they go that route, but that’s the only way to do it if you are serious about trading for a true superstar. Otherwise, I don’t hate the idea of trading a couple picks and a couple young guys for KD. I’m not sure that makes the Heat a title contender, but they will at least be a respectable playoff team again Pop is retiring. NBA coaches can be traded for draft picks but not players.If Riley decided not to retire, I wonder if there is room to trade Spo to San Antonio for a couple of first rounders. Quinn or one of the other coaches can be promoted or an experienced NBA coach like Malone can be brought in to fill the position.Just thinking out loud outside the box. Please don’t crucify me. Pop no longer coaching the spurs going into team president role (basically staying with the times giving way to new younger fresher coaches and ideas) and here we are stuck with an older gm instead of copying what the spurs and the Celtics have done and other teams are doing but Mia wants to continue to push a bs culture mantra. Mia here comes irrelevancy and it’s not going to be pretty Heat don’t have any of the cards. The cupboard is bare. Not enough talent or draft picks to move. Who would want any of that? Get real ! We are in a difficult situation with a lot of obstacles, apron concerns, little draft capital, difficult to move contracts, huge weaknesses in the lineup, and maybe even an undesirable landing spot (that can change quickly but I believe we are not the destination of choice right now). Hard to see any easy directions to take. No clue why I’m bothering to read this article it’s never gonna happen brunson was not going to be denied.last night bam needs a little of that in him.this guy just disappears in crunch time..dav has that dawg in him.just not bams dna.i think in basketball all the ss have that dawg in them.differentiates them between them and players like bam. Brunson is special. That guy has some skills. Miami will be in a much better financial position to swing for the fences after 2025-2026 than before. The Heat must first get rid of players who aren’t in the teams long term plans. Yes, the 25/26 season should be a consolidation and young players developing season to create a core, which can support a superstar coming in Miami. That’s if we take the most intelligent approach. Lets hope we do. His mind is already on football season. NFL has 32 teams. panthers sun on my sports mind dolphins suk like heat marlins, heat .need a new innovative bright mind to fix this mess any name pop(ovich) up 2 u.i have one but hes retired living the good life in san diego where the weather is nice but the town has only one sports team My team is the Caps (my son who lives in Baltimore/D.C. area is a big fan). We got him a couple of jerseys for his birthday. One is 50th anniversary black one. It’s bitching. Maybe Caps/Panthers will meet in the Eastern Finals. He’s a big Tom Wilson fan. ?_hv=2&w=900 Copyright © 2025 Hot Hot Hoops - Miami HEAT NBA Blog | Powered by Hot Hot Holdings Inc Health Care Heroes Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Yolanda F Sonnier serves as deputy director of the Maryland Commission on[...] Paula Turner-Coleman serves as supervisor of science physical education and environmental literac[...] Kristen Stamile Kinkopf serves as executive director of The Richman Foundation serves as the executive director and CEO of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) serves as a partner at Griffith Immigration Law in Baltimore a full-service law firm based in Baltimore[...] Sign up for your daily digest of Maryland news Supporting small businesses is an investment in Maryland’s prosperity – one that drives growth a[...] Listen to this article As I write this shortly after Earth Day 2025 I have on my desk a 46-page pub[...] Listen to this article Based on recent data provided by the U.S there was a si[...] I took the oath prescribed in Maryland Business Occupations[...] Listen to this article Maryland has a lot to celebrate when it comes to climate action but also muc[...] Lawmakers in Annapolis have passed hastily considered extended [...] Listen to this article In the past decade employers who sponsor pension plans have been subject to [...] Submit an entry for the business calendar The Daily Record is a digital-first daily news media company focused on law Get our free e-alerts & breaking news notifications Subscribe for access to the latest digital and special editions Click here for information about plaques permissions and reprints of previous editions Javascript is disabled in your web browser You can't access site without javascript so please enable it for your seamless and unintruppted user experience of our website The 2024-25 NBA postseason concluded its first round with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Houston Rockets Buddy Hield scored a game-high 33 points to lead the seventh-seed Warriors by going 9-of-11 from 3 while Stephen Curry registered 19 of his 22 points in the second half to go along with 10 rebounds The NBA playoffs continue May 5 with two Game 1s in the second round West: (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (4) Denver Nuggets (Game 1 Monday); (6) Minnesota Timberwolves vs Here are five takeaways from the first round Jalen Green averaged a career-high 21 points Alperen Sengun became a first-time All-Star and Amen Thompson is perhaps their best overall player Houston went from 22 wins the season before Ime Udoka became head coach to 52 in its second season under him Udoka is a finalist for NBA Coach of the Year The Rockets are young and talented, have key veterans in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, but should they break up that core and go after say Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant in an offseason trade to give them a closer who can go for 30 points on any given night The Los Angeles Clippers were up 2-1 and forced a Game 7 120-101 on May 3 after leading by as many as 35 points to claim the series Kawhi Leonard was healthy in the postseason for the first time in recent memory but the Clippers continue to fold in the biggest playoff games He scored just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting in 35 minutes to add more fuel to the postseason narrative that he can’t deliver when it really matters Cleveland evaporated the Miami Heat by an average margin of 30.5 points in the series Garland remained out for Game 1 with a left great toe sprain The Cavaliers need him because they’ll struggle to match Indiana’s offensive pace without him Miami has some serious soul searching and restructuring to do Team president Pat Riley won’t sit idly on this OKC opened its playoff run with a 51-point victory, 131-80. The Memphis Grizzlies at least made it competitive at home but they were no match for the NBA’s best team The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t trade for Luka Doncic to pair him up with LeBron James to lose this early but Anthony Edwards and the T-Wolves only needed five games to put them away the blockbuster move that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks happened right before the trade deadline James and Doncic are both used to playing with the ball but it’ll be all for naught if the Lakers don’t drastically improve defensively Tyrese Haliburton’s dad got too comfortable when taunting Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Indiana Pacers’ crazy Game 5 overtime comeback win to take the series in five games The Pacers have since banned John Haliburton from Indiana home and away games after Antetokounmpo confronted him in an aggressive manner The Bucks have now been eliminated in the first round three straight years with one of the game’s best players in Antetokounmpo Detroit basketball rebornThe Detroit Pistons could’ve very easily won their first-round series but Jalen Brunson lived up to winning NBA Clutch Player of the Year with his series-sealing 3 in Game 6 but came out of it knowing they can compete with the NBA’s best teams Jalen Duren has some Ben Wallace-isms and Ausar Thompson’s potential is scary Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today and a 2028 lottery-protected first-round pick to the Suns for the former MVP a two-time NBA champion and scoring maestro averaging over 25 points per game with elite efficiency.  The Suns' playoff struggles have fueled speculation about his future making him a prime target for Houston's aggressive front office see Durant as the key to vaulting into Western Conference contention Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) After being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs they are a hungry team that will come out with a vengeance next season.  Durant’s addition would be transformative His scoring prowess alongside rising stars like Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson could form a dynamic Durant’s playoff experience and leadership would also guide the Rockets' youthful core Losing VanVleet’s playmaking and Whitmore’s upside could constrain the Rockets' future flexibility.  Durant’s age and injury history also raise durability concerns the opportunity to land a generational talent like Durant is a gamble worth taking.  positioning the Rockets as serious contenders in the West and redefining their franchise trajectory Gregory will be under the spotlight during the offseason as the team looks to hire a new head coach and perhaps even trade Kevin Durant. Gregory was an assistant coach at Michigan State when Ishbia was a player and is already quite familiar with college scouting ahead of the draft: He was the head coach of Dayton for eight seasons from 2003-11 the head coach of Georgia Tech for five seasons from 2011-16 and the head coach of South Florida for six seasons from 2017-23 he went a combined 327-287 during his three stops he was the GM since 2019 and helped build the roster that reached the 2021 NBA Finals Phoenix was arguably the most disappointing team in the league this past season as it failed to even reach the Western Conference play-in tournament at 36-46 and has now fired its head coach in three consecutive campaigns One of Gregory's first tasks will be finding a replacement for the fired Mike Budenholzer who lasted just one season after Frank Vogel lasted just one season as the replacement for the fired Monty Williams Then there is the question of Durant, who will surely be in plenty of trade rumors during the offseason after the team failed to reach the playoffs this season.  The 36-year-old has just one more season remaining on his deal, and trading him could be the fastest way for the front office to facilitate a quick rebuild around Devin Booker. It will be quite the monumental task for Gregory as he begins his first GM role in the NBA. He missed the end of the season with an ankle injury as the team's Play-In Tournament hopes went down the drain There is a 99.9% chance that Kevin Durant has already played in his final game for the Phoenix Suns Durant has one final season remaining on his current contract and will be 37 years old by the start of next season It became blatantly evident that he won't win his next title in Phoenix The Suns have put themselves in an undesirable position due to their lack of assets and financial flexibility and trading KD would be a step in the right direction Phoenix made Durant available before the February deadline not because he wasn't interested in a reunion but because he didn't want to be traded midseason Durant wanted to see things through with the Suns reached out to Phoenix about KD before the deadline ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that those teams are expected to be interested in Durant again over the summer a lot hinges on how the teams in the playoffs perform The Rockets are down 3-1 against the Warriors in their first-round playoff series meaning Houston's season could end as soon as tonight The Rockets finished the regular season as the No but lack the star power and shooting to keep up with the No On Wednesday, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that Houston will have "internal discussions at a minimum this summer regarding potential star pursuits in the trade market." MacMahon listed Durant The Rockets have the draft assets and young players to package in a deal but don't seem to have the desire to go all-in on a star MacMahon reported that Houston's brass "are aligned in the ambition to allow this young group to grow together." The Rockets aren't desperate for a star even though Fred VanVleet said they lack the kind of player who can take over down the stretch of a playoff game Houston's patience since the James Harden trade saga has paid off The team is well-positioned for the future A first-round exit shouldn't spark concern for the Rockets; instead it should be viewed as a valuable learning experience for a young squad Even though Houston believes in its young core that doesn't mean the Rockets won't seriously pursue KD over the offseason Phoenix can't rule out Houston as a potential trade partner On Wednesday, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that Houston will have "internal discussions at a minimum this summer regarding potential star pursuits in the trade market." MacMahon listed Durant Udoka and Patrick Fertitta — are aligned in the ambition to allow this young group to grow together it is anticipated that there will be internal discussions at a minimum this summer regarding potential star pursuits in the trade market," wrote ESPN's Tim MacMahon "Does Kevin Durant make sense for the Rockets entering his age-37 season considering the costs of trading for him and extending his contract How aggressively would Houston go after 30-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo if he finally asks for a trade out of Milwaukee How about younger stars who would better fit Houston’s timeline Is Zion Williamson’s immense potential worth the risks Maybe Ja Morant if he ends up as a trade possibility?" Houston - who is set to play Golden State in a Game 7 this Sunday - has been tied to a potential trade with Phoenix since acquiring a handful of their future first-round picks in a previous trade with the Brooklyn Nets The Rockets are considered to be a piece away from being true championship contenders which leaves room for Durant to enter the picture With Phoenix having little control of future draft capital many believe Houston could dangle those coveted first-round picks out in front of Suns' brass ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania previously reported the Rockets and Durant have a mutual interest in teaming up Durant has one year remaining on his contract and could be in search of a $60 million per season extension But a KD-to-Houston trade is still unlikely Another team has fallen from the postseason, and this one mattered to the Phoenix Suns The Houston Rockets were eliminated in Game 7 by the Golden State Warriors, 103–89 and if you watched even a quarter of that series one thing was glaring: they couldn’t shoot with 65.6% of their shot attempts coming from two-point range but they converted just 48.4% of those tries the worst mark in the league this postseason If you were to write the perfect script for a playoff exit that might quietly benefit the Suns The Rockets won 52 games and finished second in the West But their biggest hole — consistent scoring and floor spacing — was exposed under the playoff lights With Kevin Durant’s future in Phoenix as stable as the Soviet Union in 1991 a growing faction of armchair GMs are circling the idea: what if KD and Houston made sense for each other This might be it. https://t.co/kAvZUCApRx pic.twitter.com/CPIrvoKn3Y Yet reports out of Houston suggest the Rockets aren’t interested in blowing things up for a star like Kevin Durant They see this season not as a missed opportunity part of the process they’ve been building toward We know that lesson all too well in Phoenix We believed that we were one elite scorer away from breaking through the moves that followed made the hole deeper but it was that first bet — that faith in star power solving all — that defined the Suns’ trajectory Houston will no doubt evaluate its path this summer But they won’t solve that problem by mortgaging their future for a player on the back end of his prime The Rockets’ 1st-round picks at their disposal in potential star pursuits:2025 1st (via Suns)2027 1st (via Suns)2027 swap (via Nets)2028 1st2029 1st (via Suns or Mavericks)2029 swap (via Suns or Mavericks)2030 1st2031 1stHouston is set up to get into any conversations. pic.twitter.com/y3hK5uR0ax that kind of gamble becomes a critical misstep And for those hoping that Houston will simply hand back our lottery pick which currently sits at ninth and will be finalized at the draft lottery on May 12 That’s more wishful thinking than I can muster Put yourself in their shoes: if that pick holds at nine Why trade that for a 36-year-old superstar with a massive price tag But I don’t believe the Phoenix Suns are the ones holding the life raft But history — and logic — tend to say otherwise After a disastrous season for the Phoenix Suns and with the organization facing a massive luxury tax bill and no clear path forward the expectation around the league is that the team will once again explore moving the 36-year-old in the coming months The favourites for Durant are the usual suspects and Miami are the names Vegas thinks are likely to be involved Dallas and San Antonio could be in the mix as well The Toronto Raptors have not been part of those conversations. There has been no reporting linking Durant to Toronto, and no indication the organization is preparing for a move of that magnitude. On DraftKings Sportsbook the Raptors are listed at +10,000 to land Durant this summer Any deal for Durant would likely require Toronto to part with either Brandon Ingram or Scottie Barnes It would also push the Raptors deeper into the luxury tax and based on the organization’s recent track record the 6-foot-11 forward remains one of the league’s most efficient scorers He averaged 26.6 points per game this past season while shooting 52.7% from the field and his presence alone would raise Toronto’s floor overnight But the bigger picture is harder to justify the Raptors would still fall short of serious championship contention given how much Toronto would have to give up in the deal calling Toronto one of his favourite places to play and praising the Raptors’ player development system The Raptors are still in the early stages of a new direction centered around Barnes and a younger supporting cast Trading for a 36-year-old on an expiring deal would cut against everything the team is trying to build Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help AARON ROSEAaron Rose is a Toronto-based reporter covering the Toronto Raptors since 2020. After losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs in seven games, the Houston Rockets are expected to pursue Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant this summer Durant and the Suns are expected to work together on a trade this summer Durant has a rapport with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka who was an assistant coach on the Brooklyn Nets in 2020-21 when Durant was on the team 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Suns this season while shooting 52.7% from the field 43.0% from 3 and 83.9% from the free-throw line Phoenix missed the playoffs this year despite having Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal Mike Budenholzer was fired as head coach after one season 7.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder One of the greatest scorers in NBA history, Durant will make $54.7 million next season. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. Only Beal and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James have no-trade clauses “They might be a go-to scorer away from contending for a championship. Their defense and tenacity are already built for basketball’s biggest stage, but they don’t have the creation and shot-making to survive four playoff rounds. Do a deal for Durant, though, and suddenly one of history’s greatest scorers could take care of that,” Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote Durant left the Warriors in the summer of 2019 He hasn’t been back to the NBA Finals since then The future Hall of Famer has also been swept in the first round of the playoffs twice This article first appeared on Hoops Wire and was syndicated with permission customized to your favorite sports and teams PHOENIX SUNS BY KELLAN OLSON After the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks met in the 2021 NBA Finals the most competitive iteration of the championship series since the Cavaliers-Warriors clashes both franchises have won a combined three playoff series Neither team even made it back to the conference finals and won’t be for quite some time Phoenix’s current grim outlook has been forecasted plenty. The Suns plan to work with Kevin Durant on a trade this offseason will explore all the potential ways to get rid of Bradley Beal and attempt a “pivot and reload” around Devin Booker Milwaukee’s directive is a lot more clear after being eliminated in the first round for the third straight year on Tuesday, especially after the awful news to come out of it for Damian Lillard, an Achilles injury that could keep him sidelined for all of next year as well The Lillard acquisition was the Bucks’ version of the Durant trade a big-time swing at a star to place alongside their franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo The 35-year-old Lillard is on the books for $54 million next year and has a $58 million player option the season after Milwaukee’s lesser version of the Beal trade back in February is the only player besides those two and rookie Tyler Smith that is on a guaranteed contract next year without options do not have control over their own draft picks across the next six years 2028 and 2030 giving them at least some selections in the future the extent to which the Suns are also doomed is well documented but the Durant trade along with other movable picks and salaries will at least allow Phoenix to reshuffle its roster Milwaukee doesn’t really have that opportunity beyond trading a 2031 or 2032 first-round pick Which is why the noise surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future will be at an all-time high Antetokounmpo turns 31 years old in December and has two more years left on his contract plus a player option beyond that for the 2027-28 season He is about to finish top-5 in MVP voting for the seventh straight year continuing to undoubtedly hold a claim as one of the first names that should come out of your mouth when discussing the best in the world he holds a strong connection to the Milwaukee area and has won a championship there The question is if that’s enough of a reason for him to see out the rest of his career there because there isn’t really going to be another reason to The Bucks could be incentivized themselves to go beyond Antetokounmpo’s wishes and do what’s best for them While Milwaukee can clear up a lot of money by 2027 it has little developmental talent on the roster and no valuable draft selections coming up to replenish the core surrounding Antetokounmpo That is where we arrive at how this could complicate how Phoenix goes about its offseason Durant’s availability and the “sweepstakes” surrounding where he could go was set to be the headlining act of the summer unless he and the Bucks come out to say he is going nowhere To be said in a way not to diminish the obvious loads of interest there will still be for Durant Antetokounmpo at this point in his career is on a whole other level Durant hasn’t finished top-5 in voting since 2016 and while you’re still getting someone with plenty in the tank he will almost assuredly be the first of the two superstars to get moved Oklahoma City and San Antonio that could theoretically be interested in Durant all have the type of draft pick capital to be in the hunt for Antetokounmpo They will want to see that out before discussing too deeply on Durant And if one of those teams is actually the perfect fit for a Durant trade (like the Rockets) they could instead dedicate their assets (like Phoenix’s own picks) toward Antetokounmpo Perhaps one of those franchises or another will be zeroed in on Durant regardless of who else could be out there even if that is someone of Antetokounmpo’s caliber make you wonder if this will still allow the Suns to operate on their own clock Milwaukee will want to take all its time to get this absolutely right The Suns always seem like they’re in a rush will want to get all their ducks in a row prior to the draft and free agency so its reset around Booker for a competitive roster next year can properly take shape were about to control how this offseason went That may have just slipped through their fingers Follow @KellanOlson With their superstar trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal the Suns were expected to be a top team in the Western Conference this season Instead, the Suns finished 11th in the West standings with a 36-46 record, three games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the final Play-In spot With the Suns missing the postseason after an abysmal season they are expected to make some major changes this offseason that could include moving on from both Durant and Beal Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Durant has been in trade rumors since Phoenix listened to offers for him at the trade deadline and he will enter the summer as one of the most sought-after players on the trade market Durant will likely see a ton of interest from many teams around the NBA but a recent report by NBA insider Marc Stein has named four teams who have emerged as the potential top trade suitors Miami (Heat) and San Antonio (Spurs) rank as the most frequently cited potential Kevin Durant suitors,” Stein wrote have been pinpointing the Timberwolves and Knicks depending on how their postseasons play out.” these four teams have been mentioned in the Durant sweepstakes more than most other teams thus far many other teams should also show interest in Durant especially with most of the four teams Stein mentions having limited trade assets to acquire him the Spurs can likely put together the best package to land Durant due to their large amount of young talent and draft capital the other three teams can offer win-now players to the Suns for Durant which may entice Phoenix more as they look to build around Booker for the future but remain competitive Miami never really stood a chance against the Cavs getting into the playoffs after winning two play-in games as the 10 seed in the East it is now abundantly clear that Miami is going to have to shakeup its roster after already trading away Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline Miami has also been involved in trade rumors surrounding Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant ever since it was leaked that Phoenix was trying to trade Durant at the trade deadline Could the Heat try to make a huge splash by acquiring Durant this offseason They certainly have some young pieces and good fits for Phoenix to entice the Suns but it’s also important to note that Durant has a lot of say in any potential trade as he only has one year left on his contract and can pick and choose which teams he’d sign an extension with This was one of the latest trade ideas by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz for Miami to get Durant: but any trade Miami would offer would likely have to center around Andrew Wiggins It would also likely have to involve at least one or two of their young players as well as draft capital for the Suns to be interested this could certainly be one of the best packages Phoenix is offered and would allow the Heat to keep their core of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro alongside Durant the Heat clearly don’t seem one piece away from winning a championship as is evidenced by their playoff performance which could hurt the chances that Durant would want to go there The Suns could push hard for Durant to accept a trade to Miami if they really like an offer and the Heat will likely be one of the last teams in the running for him It’s hard to see the 36-year-old Durant wanting to enter the situation that the Heat find themselves in but Miami is really one of the teams that could truly put together one of the most compelling offers for Durant depending on how his market shapes out based on how the rest of the teams feel after the playoffs Expect the Heat to be firmly in the fold for Durant but it’s up to the superstar forward if he truly wants to go there or not Click here to read if the Memphis Grizzlies could be a player in the Durant trade market They have $40.9 million dollars of wiggle room under the luxury tax threshold which is enough to absorb a big trade for a star player or accumulate several contracts to build a more balanced roster it isn't an unlimited amount of money and they need to be prudent with how they choose to employ that flexibility A consistent theme that has been obvious throughout the playoffs is improving the "weak link" of the team While the Hawks missed out on the playoffs they can use that lesson to inform how they want to build their team in the future Atlanta's defense was its weakest point during the season and they need more players who can hold up on that end there are several possible options for them to pursue that would fit that need there are several teams who are likely going to be in the market for a star player that can boost their overall ceiling One of the most obvious candidates to be on the move is Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 52.7/43/83.9% shooting splits and a TS% of 64.2% the Suns are stuck in the second apron and will face harsh penalties if they can't move out of it during this offseason Durant's has a $54.7 million dollar salary for next season before his deal expires At 36 years old who turns 37 before the 2025-26 season he is going to want an extension and the Suns missed the playoffs entirely They aren't a winning situation right now and they don't have any of their own first-round picks until 2032 Phoenix already tried to trade him ahead of the deadline in February and they have more flexibility to get a deal done this offseason Detroit has tons of salary cap flexibility and control over most of their first round picks They can easily put together a package to acquire Durant if they want to a third team might be helpful in order to help them make more room for Durant's massive salary Here's a possible framework that includes the Hawks as a third team Why Atlanta Might Do This Trade: Even though Fontecchio hasn't been a factor for the Pistons in their first-round series against the New York Knicks there's reason to believe he could be a much better player in Atlanta he scored 15.4 points per game to go with 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 47.9/42.6/84.6% shooting splits he hasn't played anywhere near to that level this season only connecting on 33.5% of his threes and falling out of the rotation Fontecchio was also a good shooter with the Utah Jazz last season hence why the Pistons acquired him at the deadline he's 6'7 with enough mobility to compete on that end he is not a player that the opposing offense will be able to target which cannot be said for players like Georges Niang He did get toe surgery before the season and it's possible the combination of recovering from that procedure and not adjusting to J.B Bickerstaff's scheme contributed towards his decline in production his down season in Detroit means that the price to acquire him will be miniscule and the Hawks should take advantage Fontecchio fits the exact archetype of player that thrives with Trae Young - a 3&D wing who can step into catch-and-shoot threes with confidence Why Atlanta Might Not Do This Trade: Admittedly there isn't a very large sample size of production to draw from in Fontecchio's career He's only played three seasons in the NBA and he's already 29 years old this acquistion could be a big mistake for Atlanta While the healthy version of Fontecchio is worth far more than his $8.3 million dollar salary the version currently with the Pistons is not Why the Pistons Might Do This Trade: Tobias Harris may have been a positive for the Pistons this season but there's still a massive gap between him and Kevin Durant despite Durant being four years older Durant pairs extremely well with point guards who can create their own shot and Cade Cunningham is exactly that Detroit got great shooting seasons out of Tim Hardaway Jr and Malik Beasley but they need more shooting that definitively translates to the playoffs if they want to compete at higher levels of the postseason Durant also provides rim protection in conjunction with Jalen Duren and it allows the Pistons to carve out a bigger role for Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland given their shooting limitations Why the Pistons Might Not Do This Trade: They may want to give this roster another go before considering a big shake-up of a move like trading for Durant Harris has acclimated himself well into the team's culture and deserves another run with this core giving up two first-round picks this early in their team-building process might be an ill-advised move because Durant is already approaching 37 years old it's fair to wonder if a massive decline is on the horizon for the future Hall of Famer Why The Suns Would Do This Trade: Quite frankly any trade where the Suns can get a replacement for Durant receive some first-round picks and drop into the first apron is a massive win for them but he's still a fairly consistent three-point shooter (34.5%) on 3.6 attempts per game and provides a level of competency that the Suns sorely lack in the rest of their lineup outside of Devin Booker He's done all the little things on both ends of the court for the Pistons and he's been a massive reason for their success Phoenix also gets a viable starting center in Isaiah Stewart who brings rebounding and rim protection to a Suns team in need of both He can give the Suns stabiliity at the 5 in conjunction with Nick Richards Why the Suns Would Not Do This Trade: Swapping Durant for Harris is defenitely an offensive downgrade and Harris isn't an elite defender to make up the decline in points The Suns are probably not going to be able to fix their defense in one offseason so adding enough scoring to re-create Durant in the aggregate might be one direction that they pursue This deal doesn't really give them a pathway towards doing so they might prioritize deals that land them first-rounders in the 2025 and 2026 drafts rather than waiting for the 2027 draft which is more of an unknown compared to the strength of both the 2025 and 2026 prospects New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Giannis to Orlando Magic, Hawks Get Okongwu Insurance New Blockbuster Trade Proposal Sends Kevin Durant to the Heat, Hawks Land Versatile Defender 2024-2025 Atlanta Hawks Season Grades: Dyson Daniels They went from a 22-win season two years ago to 41-41 last year and a 52-30 record this year that earned them the No The Houston Rockets were no match for Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs The Rockets are teeming with recent high-lottery picks and valuable draft capital including three fully unprotected first-round picks from the Phoenix Suns over the next half decade If they continue along their current trajectory they could be one of the Oklahoma City Thunder's biggest threats in the West for the next few years However, nothing is guaranteed for teams on the rise. Look no further than the Memphis Grizzlies, who seemed like one of the NBA's most promising young squads a few years ago. They're now facing existential questions about whether to continue building around Ja Morant as a franchise cornerstone It's unclear whether the Rockets even have that type of player on their current roster Alperen Şengün earned his first All-Star nod this year and has drawn Nikola Jokić comparisons thanks to his passing ability for a big man but he still has a ways to go before reaching Jokić's level Jalen Green is unstoppable as a scorer some nights and can't buy a bucket on others Amen Thompson looks like a future Defensive Player of the Year candidate but he still needs to make strides on offense after shooting only 27.5 percent from deep this season 1 option could motivate the Rockets to go perusing the trade market this offseason ESPN's Shams Charania said the Rockets and Suns forward Kevin Durant "have a level of mutual interest" and warned to "monitor them" if they got knocked out of the playoffs early "If you lose early ... could [the Rockets] look at a guy like Kevin Durant? ... Monitor them." 😯 @ShamsCharania says KD and the Rockets have a "level of mutual interest" in working together 👀 pic.twitter.com/DmDStOsUIc Durant remains one of the NBA's most feared scorers He averaged 26.6 points per game this season—his 16th straight season (!) with at least 25 points per game—while shooting 52.7 percent overall and 43.0 percent from three-point range He'd give the Rockets a go-to option on offense particularly in half-court settings or in crunch time Durant's spindly 6'11" frame and long arms have made him one of the league's premier mid-range assassins throughout his career Durant would undoubtedly improve the Rockets' short-term outlook But if they're looking to go all-in this offseason they should have their sights set on even bigger prizes at first The Rockets "intend to prioritize timeline considerations as much as talent and fit when they do make their next major trade," Stein reported in November. In February, he added that the Rockets' front office wanted to see how their young players fared in the playoffs before they made "further evaluations." "To try to expedite the process by going out and getting one piece now is kind of doing a disservice to what we all talked about coming into it," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka recently told ESPN's Tim MacMahon and I think the playoffs this year will give us a good picture of that and put guys in different situations and high-pressure situations to see how they react to it." The series against the Warriors could be illuminating in that regard Şengün took advantage of the Warriors' lack of frontcourt size and led the Rockets in points (20.9) rebounds (11.9) and assists (5.3) per game throughout the series Green erupted for 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting (52.0 percent) in Game 2 but he scored only 47 points on 16-of-53 shooting (30.2 percent) across the other six games of the series The Rockets signed both Şengün and Green to extensions last fall, but the structure of their respective deals spoke volumes. Şengün received a five-year, $185 million extension, whereas Green received a three-year, $106 million deal that made him "the first NBA player ever to successfully negotiate a 2-plus-1 rookie extension on a nine-figure deal," according to Charania While Charania tried to spin that as a positive (to continue currying favor with Green's agents) it signaled that the Rockets weren't as sold on Green as a part of their long-term future as Şengün The Warriors series likely did nothing to change that Unless the Rockets pick up their $44.9 million team option on Fred VanVleet they'll likely have to include Green ($33.3 million) as the main salary component of a blockbuster trade They'd otherwise have to include at least three of Dillon Brooks ($21.1 million) ($12.4 million) and Reed Sheppard ($10.6 million) to get into the salary range of most stars If the Rockets aren't sold on Sheppard's readiness to step into the starting lineup that could push them to pursue a 2-guard as Green's replacement The Rockets could be holding out hope that the Denver Nuggets' dysfunction causes Nikola Jokić to develop a wandering eye, too. They could put together a package centered around Şengün that might be hard for the Nuggets to refuse particularly if Jokić declines to sign an extension this offseason Rockets general manager Rafael Stone recently told MacMahon that they have "a very high bar to do a transaction that changes things." Patrick Fertitta added that "even though it can be exciting to feel like you are as close as you may be it's important to move with the same level of patience that got us to where we are and to make sure that we're always making decisions based on not just today but the future Because we never want to value the near term over the long term." Trading for Durant would almost assuredly bolster the Rockets' short-term outlook but they're right to be focused on the long term given the age of their young core If they could land a younger star like Antetokounmpo they might have the foundation for sustainable success throughout the rest of the decade However, nothing is guaranteed for teams on the rise. Look no further than the Memphis Grizzlies, who seemed like one of the NBA's most promising young squads a few years ago. They're now facing existential questions about whether to continue building around Ja Morant as a franchise cornerstone "If you lose early ... could [the Rockets] look at a guy like Kevin Durant? ... Monitor them." 😯 @ShamsCharania says KD and the Rockets have a "level of mutual interest" in working together 👀 pic.twitter.com/DmDStOsUIc The Rockets "intend to prioritize timeline considerations as much as talent and fit when they do make their next major trade," Stein reported in November. In February, he added that the Rockets' front office wanted to see how their young players fared in the playoffs before they made "further evaluations." "To try to expedite the process by going out and getting one piece now is kind of doing a disservice to what we all talked about coming into it," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka recently told ESPN's Tim MacMahon The Rockets signed both Şengün and Green to extensions last fall, but the structure of their respective deals spoke volumes. Şengün received a five-year, $185 million extension, whereas Green received a three-year, $106 million deal that made him "the first NBA player ever to successfully negotiate a 2-plus-1 rookie extension on a nine-figure deal," according to Charania The Rockets could be holding out hope that the Denver Nuggets' dysfunction causes Nikola Jokić to develop a wandering eye, too. They could put together a package centered around Şengün that might be hard for the Nuggets to refuse If the Rockets decide to go all-in this offseason the soon-to-be 37-year-old Kevin Durant shouldn't be their Plan A The search for 8-year-old Clara Robinson of Durant Robinson was swept away by floodwaters on Christmas Eve in 2024 after a crash into a flooded culvert near Sherman Despite extensive daily search efforts by law enforcement the nonprofit organization leading the recovery officially announced that they are ending the search Related: Teams focus on debris piles in search for 8-year-old Oklahoma girl lost in floodwaters a basketball coach at Durant Public Schools died at the scene after trying to save his daughter from the waters Authorities said Will fought to hold onto Clara the community of Durant and the Robinson family held onto hope supporting the extensive search efforts through prayer vigils Students have organized a special tribute at George Washington Elementary School in Durant Clara had been training to run a mile at school before the accident her classmates will finish that mile for her Related: Running For Clara: Durant students to run mile in tribute to beloved classmate Graham joined the News 9 team in February of 2025 He is dedicated to sharing the diverse stories that have shaped his country and his community Related: Teams focus on debris piles in search for 8-year-old Oklahoma girl lost in floodwaters Related: Running For Clara: Durant students to run mile in tribute to beloved classmate Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox! © 2025 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC. struggled to find success this past season given he has one year left on his hefty contract Current odds from DraftKings Sportsbook suggest he might stay with the Suns although the Houston Rockets are close behind as potential suitors the possibility of a trade could reshape the landscape of the NBA Despite Durant's impressive individual performance raising questions about their championship window and the strategic value of keeping a player with a high salary on an unsuccessful roster Expect ongoing discussions around Durant's future especially as teams assess their finals chances and the upcoming offseason strategy Potential trades involving Durant could significantly alter team dynamics across the league The Suns need to either maximize Durant’s talents or consider trading him to other competitive teams as the balance of power in the NBA could shift dramatically depending on his next move The summary of the linked article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it OK Privacy policy At 37 years old and entering the final season of his contract at $54 million There aren't any comparisons for a guy this good at this age in this contractual situation getting traded but we know the Suns are going to be looking to recoup at least some of the draft haul they gave up to get Durant in the first place Houston makes all the sense in the world with its ability to give up intriguing young players (perhaps a Reed Sheppard and/or Cam Whitmore) without depleting its core depth while actually giving Phoenix back control of some of its own picks and enabling the start of a potential tank rebuild You'll hear about a Golden State reunion with Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga who has lost his place in Steve Kerr's rotation for now and will be a restricted free agent over the summer there are a handful of smaller-market teams to watch as potential Durant suitors And that's what we're going to focus on here -- teams that are in the unique position of being a Durant-type player from contention with the ability to offer an intriguing package while not completely compromising their current This is the biggest small-market team to watch. The Spurs might feel like they have all the time in the world to build a contender around Victor Wembanyama. And relatively speaking, they probably do. But when they made the trade for De'Aaron Fox they announced their intention to compete right now and nothing would stamp that point home more emphatically than adding Durant Are the Spurs ready to push the fast-forward button Durant would turn them into an immediate contender considering the depth of quality players they would still have left with the cap space and plenty of remaining draft capital to potentially add even more If Randle keeps it up in the playoffs and the Wolves upset the Lakers maybe they play out Randle's contract next season but if that's not the case they will almost certainly be looking to improve in a meaningful way Speaking of Randle, he could be the root of the money to make the deal work and he's on an expiring contract that wouldn't sink Phoenix's books. Rudy Gobert could be a candidate to move if the Suns want to put Booker with a guy who has historically guaranteed you a top-10 defense, while Minnesota could fully shift to Naz Reid at center Orlando has an elite defense but can't score even bigger across the perimeter while keeping the longer Paolo Banchero-Franz Wagner timeline intact Put Durant with Banchero and Wagner and you have at least a conference finals-level team with the hope of more in the short term. Orlando owns all its own picks moving forward plus Denver's first-rounder this season, and they can offer Jalen Suggs or Jonathan Isaac who would make the money as the young upside piece that Phoenix will covet which hasn't won a playoff series in 15 years They could aim lower and just try to finally add a starting level point guard but the honeymoon of an up-and-coming team can end a lot earlier than you think and seemingly overnight you're just in another rocky marriage The next team on this list can possibly relate If LeBron James went back to Cleveland to deliver the first championship in franchise history This will depend heavily on how the Thunder perform in these playoffs; there's a very good chance they win it all this season in which case there would be absolutely no reason to compromise everything they have going with all this two-way depth for Durant who in turn would probably never want to go back to OKC after they won the championship without him and endure all the same bandwagon backlash he got with the Warriors All eyes were on the Suns to make a strong push for the playoffs this season they couldn't even make the play-in tournament as a 10th seed With the colossal disappointment the Suns had Phoenix has the highest total player salary for the 2024-25 NBA season the team will be looking to move Kevin Durant this offseason NBA insider Jake Fischer believes that the San Antonio Spurs could be a team to trade for Durant "Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul wanted either his guy Darius Garland last summer or he wanted to get De'Aaron Fox there People around the league are already starting to whisper about San Antonio potentially being a spot to bring former Texas Longhorn Kevin Durant this summer." Here is what Jake Fischer has to say about the Spurs being a team interested in Giannis this summer.He also adds that there are “whispers” around the league of them bringing in Kevin Durant.Via @JakeLFischer @BleacherReport pic.twitter.com/xUqMqX6Z93 it seems like the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets would be the two teams to make the strongest chase for Durant The Rockets are on the verge of a very disappointing first-round loss against the Golden State Warriors With multiple teams having disappointing first rounds there could be major shake ups during this NBA offseason that the San Antonio Spurs could take advantage of Stars or Not, Stephon Castle's Work Ethic Holds True Spurs' G League Playoff Berth Latest Austin Success Story In Face of Adversity, Spurs Turn to Hardwood ‘Sanctuary’ FARBOD ESNAASHARI BARTOW — As teams gathered on their respective side after shaking hands following the final out in the Class 6A Bartow coach Glenn Rutenbar kept pointing at Durant wanting his players to watch the scene unfolding in that Durant was celebrating a district title after hanging on for a 4-2 victory on Wednesday night The loss was the first for Bartow in a district championship game since 2010 when the Yellow Jackets lost to rival Lake Wales Bartow won 13 consecutive district titles since that loss I want you to watch them because they just beat you Softball: No-hitter by Lake Wales' Conroy leads all highlights from district semifinals How much watching an opponent celebrate a district title on their home field will be determined in how the Yellow Jackets respond. Prior to the game, Rutenbar said overall, the fielding has been better and the team’s hitting and pitching has been good overall. But when things go wrong, it looks like what happened against Durant. “We can make those mistakes, a lot of discipline issues and a lot of the ball in the air,” Rutenbar said. “This is exactly what I said we can look. If we’re still playing,  we have to figure it out.” Bartow will advance to the regional playoffs and still could hang on to its No. 2 seed in the region despite the loss. No. 3-seed Lake Howell plays a weak Oviedo team (4-21) in its district championship game, and No. 4-seed Bloomingdale lost to Durant in the district semifinals. Bartow won its first state title in 1997 after reaching the playoffs as a district runner-up to Lake Region, beating Lake Region in the championship game, but the Yellow Jackets have things to clean up before they can think of any more titles. The mental mistakes started early when starter Brooklyn Tyson was called for multiple illegal pitches in the first two innings, She walked two batters, hit a batter and allowed two hits in 1 2/3 innings. Lennix Ullrich’s two-run single in the second inning gave Durant a two-run lead. Ryleigh Knowlton replaced Tyson and settled things down. She allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and was solid overall. However, one of the runs came in on another mental mistake. Betty Oderio doubled home Jenna Helfrich to make it a 3-1 game in the fifth. Oderio reached third on the throw home. Then when catcher Lexi Hayford was walking the ball back to Knowlton, Oderio raced home with no one covering the plate as timeout wasn’t called. Bartow managed just one hit through six innings, recording most of their outs by fly balls. In the fourth inning, Sharon Parker singled, stole second and third and scored on a passed ball. Bartow nearly pulled off a two-out rally in the seventh. B Horsley singled with one out and advanced to second on a groundout. She scored when Kynley Quartermain reached on a bloop pop fly that was dropped by second baseman Giana Lopez in shallow right field. Emma Huffman reached on an error and Niamah Johnson singled to load the bases. Knowlton then hit a hard grounder down the third-base line that was stabbed by third baseman Leanne Allen, who stepped on the bag for the final out. Fort Meade trailed by four runs, after three innings but rallied and was on the verge of victory after taking the lead in the sixth. Moore Haven, however, tied the score and the team battled for three more innings before Moore Haven prevailed with a 10-7 victory on Wednesday night in the Rural, District 8 championship game. Camryn Prowant stole home with the go-ahead run, and Moore Haven added two more runs in the top of the 10th inning. Trailing 5-3 in the sixth inning, Fort Meade scored three times to take a one-run lead. N Jy’Kia Faulk and Nakaia Pinkston walked to lead off the inning and later scored on an error to tie the score. Ryleigh Grace later singled home Makayla DeLeon with two outs to take a 6-5 lead. DeLeon went 4 of 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Miners. Marleigh Carroll went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.  7:47 Houston's long-term plan ☑️ Subscribe to ESPN+: https://plus.espn.com/ 📱 Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn 🏀 Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2yxs3Og ☑️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE ☑️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV #ESPN #NBA playDevin Booker laments lack of 'winning culture' in Phoenix (0:33)When asked about the Suns building a winning culture and identity Devin Booker says it was "one of the steps" the team skipped The speech, given in a bare and sterile concourse turned makeshift locker room at Walt Disney World, became both legend and rallying cry in the Phoenix Suns franchise Monty Williams was beaming after his young Suns team had gone 8-0 in the Orlando bubble to end its season "We are not the Suns of old!" Williams proclaimed "It's hard to play the way you've played and not get the respect you deserve We've shocked the world and this is special Their run in Orlando left them just barely out of the first play-in tournament it was the 10th consecutive year the Suns missed the postseason They'd gone over .500 only once in that span The pivot had happened and the Suns were in the 2021 Finals the following summer that streak thudded to an end after four years and there was an absence of the inspiration of their last near miss "There's no justification for this," Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said in a news conference after the Suns lost by 38 points at home to the Golden State Warriors the seventh straight loss by double digits that essentially ended their season The Suns will start next season with a fourth different head coach in as many seasons all of the changes coming since owner Mat Ishbia bought the team in February 2023 architect of the Finals team and the 64-win team that followed in the 2021-22 season "It's been a slow bleed out," franchise player Devin Booker acknowledged after the team was officially eliminated from postseason contention after an eighth straight double-digit loss "I've been feeling this way for the majority of the season." It all raises an uncomfortable question: What can the Suns with a failing $367 million roster -- the second-most expensive in NBA history --- and without control of any of their draft picks for the rest of the decade This is a question the Suns have been privately confronting since last winter when they began to come to grips with the reality that what they'd built was deeply flawed and the possibility of some front office turnover a new plan is being formalized -- and according to multiple sources close to the team Booker was the franchise player before Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were acquired He was the franchise player before Budenholzer and previous one-year coach Frank Vogel -- Ishbia is on the hook for paying the departed coaches around $18 million combined next season sources said -- and Booker remains so as he finishes the first season of a four-year Booker averaged a career-high 37.3 minutes 25.6 points -- his lowest since 2018 -- and shot a career-low 33% from 3 Booker made a perceptible shift in speaking about the importance of his "voice." It was multifaceted -- and intentional He and Budenholzer got into a dustup during the season about Booker's communication in team settings Booker referencing it sent a message to the coach who was on his way out is also subtly letting it be known he will have more to say going forward "[I need] to be a leader and use my voice more," Booker said last week When he was asked whether that was to speak to teammates or to coaches and management because of the position the Suns put themselves in -- firmly in the second apron with its severe salary cap limitations -- building quickly around Booker play0:33Devin Booker laments lack of 'winning culture' in PhoenixWhen asked about the Suns building a winning culture and identity 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his 62 games this season They were 3-17 in games in which he did not play a 44-win pace that still would've landed them ninth in the loaded Western Conference this seems like a player a team should want to retain But with their sky-high payroll putting them in the NBA's penal second apron the Suns' ability to adjust the roster is saddled with restrictions that kneecap any flexibility And of the few options they have to seriously alter a roster that failed looking for a Durant trade is the most logical They arrived at that conclusion midseason when they tried to trade him From the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals ESPN has you covered throughout the playoffs who has only next year at $55 million left on his contract learned the organization was gaining traction on trading him back to Golden State he informed team leaders he did not want to be traded and hoped to help the Suns turn around their season Durant explained his thinking to former teammate and Warrior Draymond Green on his podcast saying: "I want my career to end on my terms Durant's hopes of salvaging the situation ended with a badly sprained left ankle on March 30 The Wolves, also mired in the second apron, have resolved their ownership situation with Marc Lore expected to take over as governor by this summer. Sources said they were the most aggressive team in February in trying to get Durant, who is close with star Anthony Edwards after the Warriors' option was taken off the table The Rockets hold two future first-round picks from the Suns (2027 and 2029) and can swap this year's lottery pick the Rockets will always be lurking when the Suns do business over the next few years The Knicks have been interested in Durant for the better part of a decade and had hoped to land him in free agency in 2019 they could again revisit the concept this summer Privately, the Suns admit they made a mistake by not involving Durant earlier in the process. They had hoped to keep the discussions closed, the way the Dallas Mavericks did with Luka Doncic but when the Suns inevitably had to discuss scenarios with third teams to find a way to execute a deal They appear to be trying a different approach going into the offseason Durant's longtime agent and business partner planned to travel to Phoenix this week for discussions with the organization There are several concepts that will define how the potential trade discussions evolve If a team is going to pay a premium to acquire Durant -- and at midseason the Suns were indeed looking for a premium specifically packages that include current or former All-Stars young players and/or first-round picks -- then making sure he wouldn't simply be around for one season will be a priority Durant is eligible to add two years and up to $124 million to his contract his three-year max being just short of $180 million and one that has the salary flexibility to add him and that can afford to pay him is an especially difficult alignment the aprons had yet to take hold of the NBA There is also the option of finding a team comfortable with one year of Durant This could be a team looking for a last piece in a title push -- or one looking to draw in fans The team acquiring Durant would still have until June 30 "Durant is a top-three name in this league," one high-ranking NBA official said "I can see a team who'd love to have him for a season just to sell tickets." How it will play out is difficult to foresee the draft itself and free agency still to come The Suns have not won a playoff game since The Suns also have brought in promising young coaches for interviews over the past several years, including Jordi Fernandez, who was later hired by the Brooklyn Nets Whether the Suns hire a first-time head coach or another one with experience could instantly lead the team to a championship to one who could come in and build relationships with the players In this way -- and in everything the Suns do this offseason to evaluate their flawed instant-gratification strategy that has gone belly up -- they might have to follow the directive of the tersely worded statement they published after Budenholzer's firing: ESPN's Bobby Marks contributed to this report Whether it’s false hope or brilliant planning a certified trend among NBA front offices is waiting in the wings for another situation to go poorly which is why we know everyone is ready by now to try to trade for Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant this summer The Suns’ unraveling over the last six months (and even last year) had every front office’s ears perked up hunkering down together to see if this was the type of opportunity their franchise needed to take advantage of What we do know is they will be rebuffed on calls about Devin Booker. An ESPN piece in March featured owner Mat Ishbia calling it a “pivot and reload” around Booker who Ishbia said with concrete certainty will not be traded That leaves Durant. He was nearly traded right before February’s deadline with the reporting adding up to Phoenix and the Golden State Warriors agreeing to a deal only for Durant’s disinterest in a reunion axing its completion a big point to understand is most of the fake trades you’re working out or theorizing aren’t possible right now with the Suns in the second apron Lots of the organizations below are in either the first or second apron as well The reported interest in Phoenix waiving and stretching Bradley Beal could end up as a key factor in freeing up the flexibility for the Suns to get the type of Durant deal done that they want So with that in mind and to avoid confusion this is less of “here’s a fake trade!” and more the potential partners to monitor He is eligible for a two-year extension to sign with his new team His commitment to that deal gives him leverage Three years of Durant is worth more than one year of Durant that’s also what Jimmy Butler tried to do in forcing his way to the Valley only to go to Golden State to accept the extension he didn’t initially want We will be tiering out these teams that could/should/would have a reason to trade for Durant by what they have to offer the Suns while acknowledging a lot have enough at their disposal to at least earn a lengthy conversation on the phone this is not ranking the teams most likely to trade Durant but an exercise to more accurately decipher who could be in a disclaimer you will surely scroll by and becomes more necessary by the day Why they would be interested: The original vultures and the inspiration for this story. Adrian Wojnarowski’s reporting (from the Houston side) indicated the reasoning behind acquiring some of Phoenix’s draft capital in late June was an intention to have a leg up if Durant or Booker became available with Houston holding control over the Suns’ first-round pick in 2025 Houston’s young core also hasn’t quite blossomed into All-Stars haven’t shown that is in their future despite where they were selected while it’s too early to tell on rookie Reed Sheppard one of the breakout players of this season that is the most likely of those four to join Sengun He’s one of the five most fascinating guys to watch this postseason While the clear best way to build a championship team is through the draft and player development Houston doesn’t have a bonafide one yet and is an intriguing team to monitor these next couple of weeks A short flameout could further prove that and inspire desperation For what it’s worth, there is conflicting reporting on Houston’s interest in Durant, but ESPN’s Shams Charania noted Houston as one of the teams with “mutual interest” in Durant What they have to offer: The draft picks lead the way Houston will want to wait until the results of the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery on May 12 before entertaining any deal involving that selection which has around a 17% chance to pick in the top-4 before it could slot in ninth or 10th A late lottery pick would do wonders to those odds with every first-rounder it owns at the moment likely to be in the 20s Green is the type of marquee talent that could serve as the featured player in a Durant deal Green is dancing the line between whether he’s the next O.J Dion Waiters or Zach LaVine as a hyper-talented score-first two-guard with all the tools to be elite that looks like he’s going to come up short of becoming that Mayo and Waiters probably aren’t fair comparisons anymore and is someone who statistically has been sort of Catch Green over the right couple of months and he looks like a future All-NBA guy Catch Green over the wrong couple of months and you’ll see why Houston might be OK with letting him go Houston’s got a handful of young talent to get itself across the finish line in negotiations 3 selections with marquee winning attributes affectionately known as one half of the “Terror Twins” with Thompson who certainly has enough upside to be a very good player still plus some of Phoenix’s first-round picks back and Green Why they would be interested: Oklahoma City maintains a respectable level of confidence in what it is building and how it would not be interested in a blockbuster trade that would create a seismic shift to its roster But what makes the Thunder so dangerous is that they don’t have to compromise that to land the majority of high-end players that would be available pushing themselves one tier higher than the one they currently reside alone in makes sense to consider They have a ridiculous amount of draft capital to pry away nearly anyone they want and with a young roster that is about to get incredibly expensive urgency to win now might be higher than you think Look at what Minnesota did in this type of situation with Karl-Anthony Towns Could that be on the horizon in a year or two for OKC who already did this last summer because they didn’t want to pay Josh Giddey And a failure to make the NBA Finals after their dominant regular season would get the gears spinning on at least the thought process What they have to offer: If the Suns wanted to go pick heavy for a Durant return OKC has 10 first-round picks at its disposal including several in the future from teams in situations trending downward like the 76ers That does not seem like Ishbia’s speed OKC also lacks the type of bloated salaries to make this deal function Alex Caruso ($18 million) and Luguentz Dort ($17 million) both might have to be in a hypothetical deal to get the money to work and those are guys that help make the Thunder who they are that also play the same position as Booker Phoenix should be more interested in younger names like Cason Wallace and Nikola Topic but at a certain point that’s now asking the Thunder to give too much Why they would be interested: To be honest The long-term goals of that do not align with the short-term nature of a Durant deal Anthony Edwards turns 24 in August and there are contract extensions coming for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid to go alongside Jaden McDaniels and Minnesota has finally concluded a dramatic strife over the franchise’s ownership Windhorst reported Minnesota was actually the most aggressive team besides Golden State in trying to acquire Durant this past February With that bit of news and the players that could be involved the T-Wolves get bumped up to this top group What they have to offer: This has the potential as the strongest haul for a player-centric deal Reid shows All-Star potential when he’s not forced to play alongside Gobert or Julius Randle and Alexander-Walker is one of the most valuable guys in the league that averages single digits There’s also recent draftees Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr Randle or McDaniels would have to be the salary filler McDaniels makes more than he’s worth while Randle on an expiring (if he picks up his player option) should just be a no for a franchise trying to refresh its basketball identity Minnesota’s interest surely revolved around one of those two guys holding most of the value in a trade It gets extremely complicated to make a trade work with two organizations in the second apron New York will hit a road block at some point in the postseason due to a lack of a secondary offensive gusto on the perimeter where the likes of Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby have not been consistently aggressive enough If Knicks fans were taking a shot each time they saw a postgame quote after the two of those guys had great nights with a teammate/coach saying “that’s the OG/Mikal we need every night,” they’d need medical attention It’s also illogical how a team coached by Tom Thibodeau with the defensive talent of Anunoby Bridges and Josh Hart could be anything but at least good on that end It can’t be all on Towns’ lack of ability as an anchor playing the 5 Anunoby and Hart are all under contract for three more seasons beyond this year while Bridges is assumedly getting a contract extension this summer after what New York gave up to get him So the Knicks have more cracks at this left But if New York starts getting antsy about how expensive the tax bill would get with Bridges on a new deal after not even making the conference finals What they have to offer: This is why the Knicks are so high up Maybe the Knicks would want to bail on the Towns experiment high-motor glue piece to feature alongside Booker in all the areas the Suns were abhorrent at this season will be appealing to the Suns front office Toss in Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson and that’s the type of 3-for-1 The Suns should get some future assets as well Why they would be interested: To not be the butt of every joke for the next decade and looked back on as making one of the greatest mistakes in the history of professional sports Winning a championship is just about the only way the Luka Doncic trade doesn’t turn into that for Dallas unless Doncic’s career takes an awful turn in the near future this is the win-now package of multiple good players to help balance out the roster for the present Dereck Lively II is presumably untouchable and the Suns would be wise to avoid trading for the seven footer that just broke one of his ankles until it’s clear he can stay healthy afterward There’s an argument to be made that Dallas and New York should be moved up into the top group given what we can decode from what Ishbia told ESPN with the way he wants to retool Why they would be interested: Victor Wembanyama is ready to contend now and it’s just a matter of how the Spurs want to go about building the right team around him The De’Aaron Fox acquisition showed a desire to get this thing moving Durant would immediately get them in the conversation as the best team in the West that does not play in Oklahoma What they have to offer: To continue the comparisons with OKC the Spurs’ main appeal is draft picks They’ve still got six first-round picks including two from Atlanta and a swap that are fairly enticing Fifth-year guard Devin Vassell would serve as the top player coming back who is probably not as good as Green but has had a weird few years with his situation that make him one of the more difficult young players to evaluate across the league San Antonio’s probably not willing to let go of rookie Stephon Castle given his long-term fit as a defense-first playmaker but Phoenix would be wise to hold firm on his inclusion in the deal given the lack of incentive elsewhere it would be whatever Phoenix prefers out of a bunch of meh former first-rounders like Jeremy Sochan Why they would be interested: Atlanta tried to find Trae Young a running mate before in Dejounte Murray and is playing well enough right now to be taken a lot more seriously if Durant arrived acquiring Murray cost them first-rounders in 2025 and 2027 as well as a swap with San Antonio in 2026 What they have to offer: Atlanta is similar to Houston in that there’s a great trade package to be made here for a balance of picks and players and maybe he’s becoming untouchable in Atlanta’s eyes after another jump from him this season but that’s the type of talent (like Green) that has to be coming back for Durant if it’s not a pick-heavy haul Dyson Daniels is having a breakout season as a premier defender and then there’s No Atlanta probably shuts down any deal with one of those three guys in it Despite the picks in San Antonio’s possession the Hawks have a few of their own from other teams That includes the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick in this upcoming draft and a suddenly sneaky valuable 2027 first that is the lowest pick between New Orleans and Milwaukee Why they would be interested: The Grizzlies have seemingly been named as an organization involved in trade talks for almost every semi-notable guy moved in the last couple of years They are never able to get it done but the idea of a star next to Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr After firing Taylor Jenkins and dropping to the play-in tournament a shakeup of this magnitude is normally what follows when you’re now five years into your rise and you’ve won just one playoff series What they have to offer: The ancillary pieces are there Memphis has a few tradable first-round picks Rookies Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey have popped this season Ditto for 2021 first-round pick Santi Aldama and while GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr both bring something to the table as modern wings But does Memphis have the marquee assets to push a deal over the top the best player coming back cannot be one of those five supporting cast members or a first-round pick that has low odds to land in the top-10 Why they would be interested: Because they are the Heat and they never stop star hunting They are currently stuck in mid purgatory and perhaps a different version of a rebuild is just to go for it with Durant and then blow it up after that What they have to offer: Did Tyler Herro just have too good of a year to be the centerpiece it’s the same hodgepodge every team dealing a star has politely said no to the last two years That’s the grab-bag of Jamie Jaquez Jr and Nikola Jovic with some salaries filled by Terry Rozier or Duncan Robinson Maybe the emergence of rookies Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larson makes a grouping more interesting — It was reported by The Athletic’s Sam Amick in mid-December that the Denver Nuggets were exploring every avenue possible to upgrade offensive talent the Suns surely wouldn’t let Durant go for an uninspiring mix of players beyond Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray — A team on the rise that might get a lil’ too excited and try to capitalize now is the Detroit Pistons Cade Cunningham is now a All-NBA guy and it’s a freefall to locate the Pistons’ second-best player They’ve got a mix of young players that are good right now and picks that would be worth looking into at the least — I’m just going to get ahead of this and say when the Los Angeles Lakers lose in the first round and it’s speculated how it should now fully be Doncic’s team someone looking into a camera on a major network will propose a Durant for LeBron James swap they are a half-decent hodgepodge team and still have tradable first-rounders left — Are the Sacramento Kings done screwing around or will they keep firing away with big deals and go after Durant It would have to include one of DeMar DeRozan — We will always give a shout to franchises with new owners and very expensive rosters Bam Adebayo has played all 645 of his NBA career games, counting playoffs, for the Miami Heat over the course of eight seasons but for a franchise that has won three NBA championships The Cleveland Cavaliers train-wrecked the Heat by 55 points in Game 4 in Miami in the first round to mark the largest margin of victory to clinch a series in NBA playoff history Adebayo didn’t need to check with team president Pat Riley to provide an offseason forecast for the Heat “It's going to be a lot of changes this summer,” Adebayo said after Game 4 understanding how the guy with the silver hair works.” Will one change involve superstar Kevin Durant? Miami reportedly was involved in trade talks with the Phoenix Suns about Durant before the 2025 trade deadline Those conversations may very well be revisited, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks sees the Heat as a latter option to land, say, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo or Durant in a trade this summer compared to other teams that could offer more “I think either player is going to be a challenge,” Marks said on ESPN’s NBA Today April 29 “I think they’re probably going to be in the back of the line of teams that have more available We’re maybe talking about Houston as one of those teams that has young players and draft picks.” More: Do Rockets top Warriors with Kevin Durant as closer? Trade win-win for Phoenix Suns, Houston Marks was reacting to former NBA player Danny Green suggesting the Heat pursue Antetokounmpo or Durant to fix the Heat finished 10th in the Eastern Conference and came out of the play-in tournament as the eighth seed in the playoffs but their best bet is to try to find a big star in the offseason,” Green said The Indiana Pacers eliminated the Bucks in the first round Milwaukee hasn’t won a playoff series in the last three years man,” Antetokounmpo said after the loss as the Bucks were ahead Just got to look myself in mirror and I just have to be better.” Antetokounmpo reluctantly addressed his chances of winning a second NBA championship in Milwaukee I wish I was still competing and going back to Milwaukee (for Game 6) Marks talked about the Heat looking to keep All-Star guard Tyler Herro but Green believes they’d have to part with Herro or Adebayo to land Antetokounmpo based on ESPN reports the Suns were “seeking significant compensation” from Miami The Golden State Warriors ended up acquiring Butler in a trade and are a win way from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals as a seventh seed Golden State holds a 3-1 series lead over the Rockets going into Game 5 on April 30 in Houston Durant is entering the final year of his $194-million deal it would have to check a lot of boxes for him and the team as a whole The Rockets finished as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record this season and earned their first playoff appearance since the 2019-20 campaign. That doesn't even include rookie Reed Sheppard who played a limited role off the bench after the Rockets selected him with the No Houston also got major contributions from veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks but youth ruled the day for the Rockets this season While it wouldn't be unreasonable for the Rockets to largely keep the same roster together and expect the young players to progress even more next season the result of their first-round playoff series could conceivably shape that decision The Rockets trail the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors 3-1 in their series ahead of Wednesday's Game 5 Golden State is a veteran-laden team led by Stephen Curry and the Warriors have thrived in big moments because of that it may be worth it for Stone to consider a trade for an established veteran superstar The most obvious target might be Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant All signs point toward the Suns rebuilding this offseason after missing the playoffs ESPN's Shams Charania reported two weeks ago that there is a "level of mutual interest" between Durant and the Rockets .css-1xiyrl{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;aspect-ratio:unset;}The Rockets could provide Durant with the chance to compete for another championship while KD could be the missing piece for Houston since he is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and a two-time NBA Finals MVP Durant is still a highly productive player 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season the Rockets would likely have to part with draft capital and at least one or two of their promising young players But if they believe they are just one big piece away from a championship Durant still excelled and was Phoenix's most consistent player but with only one year left on his contract it's hard to see the Suns quickly improving for the 36 year old to want to sign an extension especially after Phoenix already tried to trade him ahead of the deadline in February Who or what Phoenix would trade Durant for remains a mystery as his market is expected to be teams who are eliminated from the playoffs early and feel he would boost them to a championship contender ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel provided an update on Durant's value and what the Suns are looking for in a trade Friday: "It is certainly not a given that Durant will be moved in the coming months "(Owner Mat) Ishbia and the Suns will not accept less value in a trade involving Durant than they initially sent out to get him Durant is still one of the most dynamic scorers in the league and Phoenix understands they would be aiding any team's championship pursuit by handing them the future Hall of Famer on a silver platter "None of the Suns' three stars — Durant and Bradley Beal — were pleased with (Mike) Budenholzer's coaching this season which is why Ishbia and management stepped in at the end of the season Who the team hires as their next head coach will have a clear impact on Durant's future in the desert Siegel then gave a list of teams who were interested in Durant at the deadline and Atlanta Hawks all held discussions with the Suns at the trade deadline Both Booker and Durant came up in these trade talks some being more angled towards the future than at the deadline itself "What could potentially happen with Durant and which teams would be willing to sacrifice a ton of assets for him in the offseason will become clearer based upon what occurs in the playoffs Earlier exits than originally anticipated will force many teams' hands that could be the missing link for many franchises." The Suns have plenty of moves to make this season but whatever happens with Durant is going to be the most telling of how their 2025-26 roster will look and the Houston Rockets have been listed as a potential destination for him next year That's why Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey suggested a deal that would send Durant to the Rockets for Fred VanVleet a 2028 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick "The math is a little tougher on this one than some of the previous deals since the Phoenix Suns are a "second apron" team that can't aggregate outgoing salaries or take in more money than it sends out," Bailey wrote this is about the only combination of players that works for the Houston Rockets to bring Kevin Durant in for this run "That's why Houston is sending the Suns back its own 2027 pick and including two more firsts for good measure It's a relatively steep price to pay for a 36-year-old with KD's injury history but the Rockets' resulting rotation would be pretty terrifying "Houston would still have most of the key cogs of its rough-and-tumble defense and Durant would give the Rockets a far more reliable clutch-time option on offense regaining control of one of their own firsts would be huge Adding two more for a player everyone already knows is on his way out makes this a fairly easy "yes" from Phoenix but the picks aren't the only selling point "Fred VanVleet's 2025-26 salary comes by way of a team option so there could be some instant flexibility there And Cam Whitmore would give the team a promising athletic wing to play alongside Devin Booker (or be a building block in the event Booker gets moved This deal gives the Suns a steady hand at point guard in VanVleet to help Booker in the backcourt Whitmore is also a potential starter on the wing or a sixth man that could be a sparkplug off the bench Whitmore hasn't played too much in his two years in Houston but that is largely due to the volume of talent on the Rockets roster and not about his abilities A move like this could be what the Suns need to get them back in business in competing for the playoffs JEREMY BRENER crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.