Cavaliers' Kevin Durant Rumors Receive More Clarity

When rumors surfaced that the Cleveland Cavaliers had offered Darius Garland to the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant, it hit like a lead balloon among Cleveland fans. However, according to ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, it wasn't the Cavaliers shopping Garland to the Suns.

Instead, Phoenix was the team offering Durant for Cleveland's two-time All-Star point guard.

"The Suns, from what I am told, are the ones to reach out [and] had interest in Garland," Windhorst said. "It was not the Cavs who wanted to trade Garland. Now, you know what I've told you over the last month. The Cavs are under an obligation because theyr'e going into the second apron [and] they have to pay attention to anything like this because [things] become exponentially harder.

"So, the Cavs said they only way they would consider this is if the Suns sent Kevin Durant plus other assets and the Suns didn't hang up the phone. Let's point out that the Suns own the Cavs' 2029 first-round pick because they got it from the Jazz last year. Getting back your picks in the somewhat distant future is somewhat attractive.

"But [for] the Cavs to do that trade would have had to offload salary because they just couldn't take it on. I do think they had some calls about bringing in a third team. It wasn't one call. It wouldn't have been just Durant. It wasn't just them looking to trade Garland."