Kevin Durant is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history. His accolades and records speak for themselves. Despite being 36 years old and suffering a torn Achilles in 2019, Durant has continued to look like one of the best players in the league, and it doesn't appear he is slowing down anytime soon. That is why the Golden State Warriors hold serious interest in a reunion with Durant ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
How did we get to this point? The Warriors have been in the market for a star player to pair with Stephen Curry practically since Durant left to go to the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. Even though Golden State had its miraculous championship run in 2022, the one weakness this organization has had lies next to Curry.
This season, more than ever, that hole has become a crater. If the Warriors are to sustain success in the final years of Curry's career and remain relevant in the championship picture, they are going to need another superstar. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the Dubs' biggest dream targets, but neither player is obtainable.
Even though the Phoenix Suns continue to tell teams that they aren't tearing their roster apart and that both Durant and Devin Booker aren't available, that isn't what the word on the street is saying. League personnel continue to pinpoint a reunion between Curry, the Warriors, and Durant as a very plausible scenario that could play out between now and Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
Of course, this time of the year is filled with talk around the league, and nobody truly knows what is actually going to happen. After all, we just saw Luka Doncic traded for Anthony Davis, so would a Durant trade to the Warriors actually shock anybody?
The reality of the situation is that the Warriors will do what it takes to bring Durant back if the Suns are willing to listen and truly think about their future. That brings us to the question everyone wants to know: How can the Warriors actually pull off yet another Kevin Durant heist?
The main points of Warriors' Kevin Durant pursuit
Durant wants to win. That has been his goal since making the NBA Finals for the first time with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, and that was the main reason he signed with the Warriors during 2016 free agency. When he left Golden State in 2019, Durant did so to team up with Kyrie Irving and eventually James Harden in Brooklyn.
The Nets were widely seen as title favorites, but winning when it mattered most didn't happen for that group due to a constant slew of injuries and internal frustrations. As a result, Durant requested a trade to the Suns to team up with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Well, Durant is in his third season with Phoenix, and we are seeing a lot of similarities with what transpired in Brooklyn. Like Harden, who was the third star next to Durant and Irving, Beal has taken a step back from the player he was known to be before joining the Suns. There are also constant injury concerns that the Suns have dealt with over the last two years.
Most importantly, Phoenix isn't finding the success they imagined. After being swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, a team that had not won a playoff series since 2004, the Suns now find themselves with a 24-24 record just days before the trade deadline. Coincidentally enough, that is the same record as the Warriors.
Durant is well aware of all the noise surrounding him, the Warriors, and the trade deadline right now, and this has suddenly become the most discussed topic around the league for good reason.
The Warriors can make this trade work financially. With all the talk among league personnel linking these two sides, anything could happen between now and Thursday's trade deadline.
Overall, what this trade comes down to is Durant's willingness for a reunion with Curry and Draymond Green, as well as what direction the Suns see themselves going in.
There has been no trade request made by Durant, nor has he signaled that he's unhappy with Phoenix. At the same time, he didn't do so with the Nets until it was too late for them to try and do anything. The Suns have virtually no valuable draft capital, and they forced themselves to go all-in with Booker, Beal, and Durant.
If the Suns could swing a trade to replace Beal with Jimmy Butler, a player Durant has wanted to play alongside since joining Phoenix, everything changes for this franchise. But that doesn't seem likely to play out before the trade deadline, as Beal's no-trade clause has complicated matters. Is it time for the Suns to seriously consider readjusting their future to make sure Booker doesn't leave? After all, Durant isn't getting any younger.
While many may downplay Golden State's chances of pulling off another shocking trade at the deadline, there is a path to landing Durant.
How a Kevin Durant trade works financially
NOTE: This is just the framework of what would need to happen. This is NOT a real, accurate trade scenario.
Golden State Warriors receive: F Kevin Durant, G Damion Lee, G Monte Morris
Phoenix Suns receive: F Andrew Wiggins, F Jonathan Kuminga, G Dennis Schroder, G Gary Payton II, GSW 2025 1st-round pick, GSW 2026 1st-round pick (swap), GSW 2027 1st-round pick, MIA 2025 2nd-round pick (via GSW), GSW 2031 2nd-round pick
Once again, this is just the framework of a potential Durant-Warriors trade that would need to play out to work financially for both teams. The financial aspect of such a trade is the important aspect here, especially considering that the Warriors are hard-capped at the first apron.
Right now, the Warriors have about $177.8 million in total salaries, which is roughly $300,000 away from their first-apron hard cap. By no means is Golden State allowed to exceed the $178.1 million hard cap this season, so how could they possibly bring in Durant's $51.1 million contract?
Well, what the Warriors have that other teams don't at this trade deadline is expiring, middle-tier contracts. Dennis Schroder ($13 million), Gary Payton II ($9.1 million), Kevon Looney ($8 million), and Jonathan Kuminga ($7.6 million) are all going to be free agents in the summer. Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson, who the Warriors just added this past offseason, are each making $8.7 million in the first year of their respective contracts.
Golden State also has Andrew Wiggins, who is the center of any big trade they could potentially pull off since he's making $26.2 million. Some have speculated about Draymond Green's future with the Warriors, but it truly seems like he will be there for the long haul with Steph. Anything can happen after Luka was traded, but Green shockingly being dealt isn't something anyone is anticipating to happen unless he no longer wants to be with the team.
So, where does that bring us in terms of acquiring Durant? Wiggins, Schroder, and Payton combine for $48.4 million, getting the Warriors close to what they would need for a trade with the Suns. Now comes the value part of this deal with the Dubs needing to trade Kuminga, a young, athletic forward that they believe has All-Star potential.
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What many tend to forget about Kuminga is that he hasn't been playing organized basketball all that long, and he's still just scratching the surface of his potential at 22 years old. In 32 games this season with the Warriors, the former seventh-overall pick has averaged 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor. Many around the league believe Kuminga can become an All-Star talent in the right system.
As much as the Warriors want to keep him moving forward, would they really turn down the opportunity to reunite with Durant?
Wiggins, Kuminga, Schroder, and Payton get you to $56 million, which then allows the Warriors to also add Damion Lee and Monte Morris, who are on minimum contracts. The Suns would obviously have other teams involved, but these four players as outgoing salaries from the Warriors can get you Durant. Then there are questions about how much draft compensation the Dubs would need to sacrifice.
When the Suns acquired Durant from the Nets, they gave up four outright first-round picks and one pick swap, along with players like Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges. No matter what, the Suns aren't going to be able to recuperate equal value to what they initially gave up, which is why there has been a lot of pushback at the idea of trading Durant from Phoenix's perspective.
Out of any team in the league, the Warriors' future draft picks are perhaps some of the most valuable out there because Curry and Green are nearing the end of the line. Any unprotected pick coming from Golden State between 2029 and beyond could easily become a lottery pick, which is why these would be valuable assets for the Suns to acquire if they were to give up Durant.
The problem with this is that the Warriors already made the Chris Paul-Jordan Poole trade with the Washington Wizards before the start of the 2023-24 season, giving up their 2030 first-round pick with top-20 protections. Golden State can trade the back half of this pick for selections 21-30, but they can't trade their 2029 or 2031 picks outright.
This leaves the Dubs with picks in 2025 and 2027 or 2026 and 2028 that can be traded outright to Phoenix in a Durant deal. The other two would likely become swaps unless the Warriors did something similar to what the Suns recently did, trading their 2031 first-round pick for three additional, less valuable firsts. There are options here for how the Warriors could potentially build draft capital to go to Phoenix, especially if Wiggins were to go somewhere else.
That brings us to the next topic of discussion.
What else needs to happen?
Wiggins is a valuable player on the wing. The Warriors turned down the opportunity to turn him into a player like LaVine and others during the offseason, and this organization has continued to operate with a level of hesitance when it comes to sacrificing Wiggins. After all, he was an essential part of their 2022 championship run.
If it meant getting Durant, the Warriors would be trading away Wiggins, which suddenly opens the door for other teams to get involved. This season, Wiggins is averaging 17.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range. Not only is the former first-overall pick having a great bounce-back season, but an extra one or two first-round picks could come back in a side deal involving Wiggins.
A variety of teams would likely express trade interest in Wiggins if he were to be moved in a mega-deal for Durant. One of the more intriguing destinations is the team that originally drafted him first overall in 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the Eastern Conference, the Cavs have cemented themselves as the team to beat and true championship contenders. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland make up an All-Star backcourt duo, and the two-headed frontcourt monster of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen continues to wreak havoc. The only area Cleveland lacks championship firepower is on the wing, which is why Wiggins would fit in perfectly.
Before the trade deadline last season, the Cavs were one of a few teams to hold internal trade conversations about pursuing Wiggins. Given the position they find themselves in to immediately contend for a title, could now be the time for Cleveland to strike and go all-in by adding the Warriors' wing if Durant was moved to Golden State?
Hypothetically speaking, the Cavaliers could give up Caris LeVert, who is on an expiring contract, Isaac Okoro, and their 2031 first-round pick in a deal to acquire Wiggins. That is an extra first-round pick that could make its way to Phoenix.
Another team that could really use a player like Wiggins is the Milwaukee Bucks, who are looking at all avenues to potentially move Khris Middleton for a championship-level upgrade. Like the Cavs, Milwaukee doesn't have many draft picks, and they can only outright trade their 2031 first-round pick.
Maybe a team like the Orlando Magic, which preaches defensive effort and has an abundance of draft picks, would be willing to move some assets for a player like Wiggins. The point in all of this is that options to move Wiggins elsewhere other than Phoenix exist, and this could return immediate draft capital and salary flexibility in the form of expiring contracts. This then opens the door for the Suns to continue finding ways to build around Booker.
The point in all of this is that the Warriors have value with Wiggins, Kuminga, and future draft assets to make a deal for Durant happen. Whether or not this blockbuster deal can be completed all comes down to the Suns, who clearly stated on multiple occasions that they aren't moving Booker or Durant.
Even so, the Warriors are again lurking and attempting to lure Durant to the Bay Area in search of another championship.
