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Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant has the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs at the top of his wish list.
As the Suns sort through options to find the best trade available, it has emerged that Durant is amenable to signing extensions with those three teams.
The other teams reportedly in the mix are the Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers.
It has also been reported that Durant would have liked to list the New York Knicks as a preferred destination. However, the Knicks appear uninterested in acquiring him and likely wouldn’t have the draft capital required to manufacture an appealing offer.
As detailed previously, the Suns are hoping to trade Durant by draft day on June 25.
Durant is a 15-time All-Star, two-time Finals MVP, and four-time scoring champion. This season, he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks. He shot 57.4 percent on twos, 43 percent on threes and 83.9 percent at the free throw line.
He has one year remaining on his contract worth $54.7M.
What We Know About Rockets, Spurs, Heat Offers For Durant
HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Rockets have consistently maintained that they have put themselves in a strong long-term position and feel no pressure to change that. On a roster where key players are around the age of 25, Durant entering his age 37 season is not seen as an ideal fit.
Phoenix would love to deal with Houston because the Rockets hold Suns draft picks that they would like to recover. In this upcoming draft, the 10th pick in the draft that the Rockets own was acquired from the Suns. Houston also owns Phoenix’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
The Suns are also known to covet power forward Jabari Smith Jr.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Durant is very interested in pairing alongside Victor Wembanyama. League insider Jake Fischer reported that the Spurs have only made Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes available from the roster.
The level of draft compensation that would be attached is unknown but Phoenix is uninterested in those players. San Antonio has 13 first-round picks between now and 2032. The second overall pick in this year’s draft is believed to be completely off the table in Durant negotiations. Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle is off limits as well.
Considering there is only a year remaining on Durant’s deal, that may be a poor stance to take. Vassell is developing into one of the better young wing players in the league while Johnson could be a solid bench piece for years to come.
If the offer is in the neighborhood of Vassell, Johnson, Barnes and the 14th pick in the upcoming draft, it might be worth at least bookmarking for later.
MIAMI HEAT
Durant once wanted to move to the Heat while with the Brooklyn Nets so it’s no surprise to see them on the list now.
Miami’s offer is believed to start with Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson along with some combination of first-round picks. The Heat can offer the 20th pick in this year’s draft along with first-rounders in 2030 and 2032.
The Suns have expressed wanting to upgrade the center position and so perhaps a deal here will come down to whether Phoenix can also acquire promising young big man Kel’el Ware.
That was considered a bar too high when the Jimmy Butler trade negotiations were happening but the Heat don’t have Butler to offer anymore.
What We Know About Wolves’ Offer For Durant
Minnesota and Phoenix are both second apron until at least June 30. This means that any deal involving these two teams will likely have to wait until July 6 at the earliest.
The Wolves can only fall under the second apron if both Naz Reid and Julius Randle decline their player options for next season.
As mentioned earlier, the Suns also covet a center and so are likely to want Rudy Gobert in a Durant deal. But where does that leave Minnesota as far as a center is concerned? The Wolves are also unwilling to part with Jaden McDaniels, according to reports.
As far as draft capital is concerned, the Wolves only have the 17th pick in this year’s draft to offer.
It’s hard to know too much about a possible framework here because of all the unknowns.
What We Know About Raptors, Clippers Offer For Durant
Based on reports, there may be a willingness on Toronto’s side to take on another one-year rental superstar. The Raptors went down this path not too long ago with Kawhi Leonard. They saw him depart in a year but not without winning a championship.
Toronto only just acquired Brandon Ingram and so envisioning a fit between him, Scottie Barnes, and Durant is tricky. Jakob Poeltl would certainly be a center the Suns would covet. How Phoenix views R.J. Barrett could be critical for a possible deal here.
The Raptors hold the ninth pick in this year’s draft and have future picks available to trade as well.
While ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported the Clippers’ interest, it’s unknown what a trade framework would look like. They don’t have a bevy of picks to trade nor is there an appealing collection of young players available.