KD Stays in the Desert! Phoenix Suns Mend Fences with Kevin Durant in Shocking Reunion
The Phoenix Suns are on their longest winning streak since November and are surging up the Western Conference standings. After being stranded at the 11th seed for weeks, the Suns are tied with the Kings for the 9th seed and are in serious contention for home court in the first Play-In game. The vibes in the Valley have done a complete 180 since the disastrous NBA trade deadline, where the franchise lost the trust of many of its players, including superstar Kevin Durant.
Durant was put in trade talks and almost traded back to the Golden State Warriors, which caught the 15-time All-Star by surprise. Rumors soon spread afterward that the 36-year-old would request a trade in the offseason to leave Phoenix. But the recent team’s success might change that notion.
The two-time NBA champ still has years of good basketball left to give the Suns, averaging 26.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.4 rebounds this season. Durant hasn’t wavered in his support of his teammates by highlighting their importance to the team or going out to support them, like when he attended Ryan Dunn’s brother’s spring training game.
Despite the media reports, Durant has been a perfect teammate and has respect for fellow superstar Devin Booker, which could keep him in the Valley. Durant staying in Phoenix is the best for the franchise, a sentiment shared by fellow NBA players Carlos Boozer and Kendrick Perkins, who spoke about him staying in Phoenix.
Boozer on NBA today on Suns keeping Durant:
“I think Kevin Durant and Devin Booker together are so dynamic, they both can take over a game… maybe they make some moves… if they can keep these two superstar players together, it would be in their best interest.”
The obvious solution would be to trade guard Bradley Beal in the offseason, as the Suns are 13-3 without him playing with Booker and Durant. However, Beal’s no-trade clause makes that task impossible, which means they might be forced to trade Durant to get under the second apron.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia told ESPN that he has no interest in rebuilding. Ishbia’s first move in Phoenix was to push general manager James Jones to trade the house for Durant to try and contend. Since then, the franchise has gone off the rails, but Durant’s play hasn’t. Trading the 11-time All-NBA member would set the Suns back even further than they already appear and put them in rebuild mode, a place that Ishbia doesn’t want to be.
Durant is a top-10 player in this league and has shown that he is willing to make it work in Phoenix. The decision will be up to the front office’s decision on how to move forward.
