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Kevin Durant Faced Rejection From His Top NBA Trade Choice

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 6:26 PM ET

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Saturday that Kevin Durant wants the Phoenix Suns to trade him to the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs or Houston Rockets.

However, the Suns can trade Durant anywhere since the future Hall of Famer doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract.

Durant will play for his fifth team next season. The NBA legend has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns.

Durant won the 2014 MVP Award with the Thunder and back-to-back titles and Finals MVPs with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

Since leaving the Warriors, Durant hasn't even gotten back to the conference finals. He's also been swept in the first round of the playoffs twice.

The Suns have had trade discussions with the Heat, Spurs and Rockets about a Durant trade. But according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, Durant "wanted" to get traded to the New York Knicks.

The Knicks, though, were not interested in trading for the NBA icon.

New York made the conference finals this year for the first time since 2000, losing to the Indiana Pacers in six games. Tom Thibodeau was fired as head coach, so the Knicks are looking for a new coach right now.

Durant and Kyrie Irving chose to sign with the Nets in 2019 instead of the Knicks. Irving and Durant didn't have much success in Brooklyn, as the furthest they went in the playoffs was the second round in 2021.

The Knicks made two blockbuster trades last year, acquiring Mikal Bridges from the Nets and Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. While things can always change, it doesn't appear New York will trade for Durant.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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