Anthony Edwards not recruiting Kevin Durant to Wolves, insiders say

Anthony Edwards is not attempting to recruit his idol, Kevin Durant, to Minnesota. That's the word from ESPN's Marc J. Spears, whose report has since been corroborated by fellow insider Brian Windhorst.

"Talked to some people close to Anthony Edwards," Spears began Wednesday on NBA Today. "This is a non-story. He's in Atlanta working out. He loves his former teammate. He loves his current teammates. Some people close to me said he's focused on what's next with this team. And he's not flying to L.A. to try to convince K.D. anything different."

Windhorst supplemented Spears' report by saying he can see Edwards avoiding putting pressure on Durant because "Ant would defer to Kevin on just about everything."

"That's legitimately an important piece of information," Windhorst said. "Ant Edwards is not recruiting Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant says he doesn't want to be in Minnesota. The deal is not done. This is not heading towards Minnesota. Obviously things can change. This is not heading like Durant is going to Minnesota. Spears is making it very clear the way Ant is feeling."

Edwards' admiration for Durant is obvious, but Durant has allegedly informed the Suns that he does not want to be traded to Minnesota. Could he change his mind? According to The Athletic's Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski, the Suns hope he does.

"With the offers from the Spurs, Rockets and Heat coming up short to this point, league sources say the Suns are still hopeful that Durant might warm to the Timberwolves possibility," Amick wrote this week. "The Timberwolves do not want to make a seismic change to a roster that advanced to the Western Conference finals if Durant is not on board with the move, team sources said. The question now is whether there’s any chance of Durant coming around to the idea."

Evan Sidery, an NBA contributor for Forbes, reports that Phoenix covets Rob Dillingham and would entertain trading Durant for Dillingham, Rudy Gobert and Donte DiVincenzo. Of course, that would leave the Timberwolves without a long-term plan at point guard and a small championship window since Durant turns 37 in September and him signing an extension isn't a lock with the Wolves.

The NBA Draft is a week from Thursday and that means the rumors are only going to intensify. For now, the insiders say the Wolves aren't trying to convince Durant to change his mind.

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