3 Lottery Teams Most Likely to Trade for Kevin Durant

The Mavericks will almost certainly not move the No. 1 pick (presumably Cooper Flagg) they surprisingly won for Durant, but instead trade away some other pieces if they still plan to operate in the 2-3 year time window general manager Nico Harrison laid out following the Luka Doncic trade in February. 

P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford are prime trade candidates for the Mavs and would fill positions of need for the Suns. For salary purposes, Dallas would also likely have to include Klay Thompson and another piece for Durant, as well as future draft picks to entice Phoenix. 

If the Mavericks were to land Durant, they would boast one of the biggest starting lineups in NBA history highlighted by Flagg, Durant, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II. Durant would also get to reunite with Kyrie Irving, who will likely miss most of next season after tearing his ACL. 

It might make more sense for the Mavs to trade Washington and Gafford for a good role player(s) or a borderline star, but don’t rule them out as a potential team for a Durant deal. 

2. San Antonio Spurs

Much like the Mavericks, the Spurs being here doesn’t mean they would trade the No. 2 overall pick they were awarded for Durant. 

However, that option could make sense because there are not as many good fits with the second pick for San Antonio and the Spurs could instantly become a contender with Durant. The problem with this for San Antonio is that it would have to attach Devin Vassell and another player or two (likely Harrison Barnes) to match salaries with Durant. 

The Spurs could make a similar offer in terms of players but with multiple other draft picks (like No. 14 this year) for Durant instead if they wanted to go a different route. 

With that said, San Antonio has plenty of options to improve its team around its young core highlighted by Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. 

The Spurs could look even bigger than Durant with the No. 2 pick for a name such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Durant could still be in play for San Antonio. 

1. Houston Rockets (via Suns)

The Rockets did not get the good fortune with the Suns’ original pick the Spurs and Mavs did, landing at No. 10 in the lottery. 

Houston has always made the most sense for Durant especially having Phoenix’s draft capital. This year’s pick, along with the Suns’ first rounder in 2027 or 2029, now could be prime ammo for the Rockets to include in a Durant trade along with 3-4 other players, which could be any of Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard or Cam Whitmore packaged alongside Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green or Fred VanVleet. 

The Rockets are already playing the leverage game with Durant after a report from The Athletic's Kelly Iko came out Monday before the lottery that stated the following about Durant and the Rockets:

"While Durant is widely seen as the most attainable of (star players that could be traded), and he is known to be very interested in playing in Houston, team sources said the Rockets still have significant reservations about that possible partnership, in large part, because Durant’s age (36) would be so out of sync with their younger timeline.

"It’s worth noting that previous talks between the teams about Durant, team sources said, were initiated by the Suns."

Durant would significantly bolster the Rockets after they got the second seed in the West this season, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and noticeably lacked a true No. 1 option.

No matter Durant's age and how desperate the Suns may be to make changes this offseason and teams ready to take advantage of that, they could potentially have a lot of offers to choose from for Durant because several teams make sense for him if they want to be in win-now mode.