The Kevin Durant era in Phoenix is over after the Suns reportedly agreed to trade the forward to the Houston Rockets, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro confirmed the trade.
The Rockets will trade Jalen Green ($33.3 million) and Dillon Brooks ($22.1 million) to Phoenix.
Houston’s No. 10 overall pick, which originated from Phoenix and went through Brooklyn in the Suns’ trade to acquire Durant in 2023, is also headed back to the Suns, as well as five second-rounders.
Green’s inclusion muddles the perimeter picture for Phoenix with Devin Booker in tow and Bradley Beal still on the roster as of the trade. It’s a reason why his inclusion in trade predictions was more about money, with a potential re-route trade considered a possibility for Phoenix not to get too redundant.
Green averaged 21.0 points and 4.6 rebounds on 42% shooting from 3 last season. He is under contract for the next two years with a player option in 2027-28.
Brooks, arguably the most-hated man in the NBA, brings his edgy and sometimes line-crossing defense to give the Suns a bit of toughness, though his 14.0 points per game and 43% shooting comes with a strong hot-and-cold feel in terms of both the results and the shot selection.
Gambadoro reported last week that Phoenix had at least six teams interested in Durant: Houston, San Antonio, Minnesota, Toronto, Miami and the Los Angeles Clippers. Durant reportedly had preferred trade destinations in the Rockets, Spurs and Heat.
Houston’s No. 10 overall pick, which originated from Phoenix and went through Brooklyn in the Suns’ trade to acquire Durant in 2023, is also headed back to the Suns.
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Green’s inclusion muddles the perimeter picture for Phoenix with Devin Booker in tow and Bradley Beal still on the roster as of the trade. It’s a reason why his inclusion in trade predictions was more about money, with a potential re-route trade considered a possibility for Phoenix not to get too redundant.
Green averaged 21.0 points and 4.6 rebounds on 42% shooting from 3 last season. He is under contract for the next two years with a player option in 2027-28.
Brooks, arguably the most-hated man in the NBA, brings his edgy and sometimes line-crossing defense to give the Suns a bit of toughness, though his 14.0 points per game and 43% shooting comes with a strong hot-and-cold feel in terms of both the results and the shot selection.
Smith has one year left on his rookie deal before reaching restricted free agency after this season. He averaged 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing. The 22-year-old started in 39 of 57 games played and has yet to tip his long-range shooting (35%) into above-average territory that was the basis for the power forward becoming the No. 3 overall pick in 2022.
Kevin Durant’s tenure with the Suns comes an an end
Durant’s run in the Valley comes to an end after Phoenix acquired him in a blockbuster trade two years ago from the Brooklyn Nets, a deal made on Day 1 of Mat Ishbia’s ownership. The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four unprotected future first-round picks, plus a first-round pick swap, to pair the superstar forward with Devin Booker.
Durant’s departure marks the first big move in a roster makeover by new general manager Brian Gregory, who replaced James Jones at the beginning of May. Bradley Beal is also expected not to return, while Phoenix has eight other players who are either unrestricted free agents or on non-guaranteed contracts.
Durant, a 15-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, appeared in 145 regular games with Phoenix and averaged 26.6 points on 52.7% shooting and 42.7% from long range. He added 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 blocks in 36.7 minutes per game, making the All-Star team twice with the Suns.
Durant additionally played 15 postseason games with Phoenix, averaging 28.4 points.
That included a five-game series win against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, leading to a loss to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in six games. In 2024, the Suns were swept in four games by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns in the past three offseasons have filtered through three head coaches, firing Monty Williams after the Nuggets conference semifinals series, Frank Vogel after the sweep by the T-Wolves and Mike Budenholzer this past year after missing the play-in with a 36-46 record.
Struggling much of this past season under Budenholzer, the Suns were steadily linked to Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who reportedly had strong mutual interest in joining Phoenix. But the Suns’ avenue toward acquiring him to pair with Booker and Durant was hampered by the no-trade clause in Beal’s lucrative contract.
The Suns ultimately attempted to deal Durant to the Golden State Warriors — a discussion that in real time and thereafter was made quite public — before the idea was shot down by the forward. The Warriors pivoted by trading for Butler themselves, leaving Durant to play out the year in Phoenix.
The Durant and Butler drama unfolded days after the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world by dealing Anthony Davis for Dallas Mavericks franchise face Luka Doncic.
“If he can get traded, anybody’s up for grabs,” Durant told reporters after Doncic was traded. “Players are held to a different standard of loyalty and commitment to a program. But the organizations don’t get held to that same standard from the outside world, whether it’s media members or fans. … It’s pretty wild.
“Start seeing stuff like that as an organization, you might get a little more courage to do some stuff when you see another team trade away somebody like that.”
The Athletic reported additional interest in Durant from the Mavericks and Houston Rockets, as well, noting Phoenix coveted Draymond Green. The T-Wolves and Knicks were other teams potentially interested in Durant.
Durant, who is up for a two-year extension after not earning a single-year extension from the Suns last summer, was in trade rumors before the 2024-25 season even began.
Last offseason, it forced Ishbia to refute the rumors on social media.
It got legs when then-ESPN newsbreaker Adrian Wojnarowski reported that a Houston Rockets’ trade with the Brooklyn Nets, which centered around Phoenix’s future first-round picks, made a Durant deal between the Suns and Rockets “far easier.”
After dealing Durant to Phoenix in 2023, the Nets eventually traded away Bridges to the Knicks in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via Milwaukee, an unprotected pick swap and a second-rounder.
The Nets then turned around and worked out a trade with the Rockets centered around draft capital.
Houston now owns the Suns’ 2025 first-round pick, which is No. 10 after the draft lottery, plus Phoenix’s 2027 unprotected first-round pick. The Rockets could also land Phoenix’s 2029 first-rounder in certain outcomes.
Why did the Suns trade Kevin Durant?
When Phoenix traded for Durant on the first day of Ishbia’s ownership, the front office’s commitment to winning couldn’t be denied based on the ensuing spending.
The Suns had the highest payroll and paid the most in luxury taxes for the 2024-25 season after adding Beal to the tab. Another regular season of inconsistent play likely led Ishbia to accept that sustainability would require a major reset.
Durant’s trade package gives the Suns salary cap relief with his $54.7 million owed next season and the opportunity this summer to extend that two more years. If it didn’t come to a head yet, it likely would then if Phoenix wasn’t sure on extending the 36-year-old.
The trade also refills the cupboard with tradeable assets that were fired off aggressively to acquire Durant and Beal.
Ultimately, the deal comes down to this: Giving the Suns a chance to quickly reset around 28-year-old franchise face Devin Booker, Phoenix’s all-time leading scorer.
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