Kevin Durant 'Wasn't Expecting' To Leave Suns So Quickly

Kevin Durant showed off his new Houston Rockets threads for the first time at the team's media day Monday after being traded away from the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster deal this summer.

Durant, who also celebrated his 37th birthday Monday, reflected on his time with the Suns when asked why he preferred to be traded to Houston as the next step in his career.

"It all happened pretty fast. I wasn't expecting to leave Phoenix that quickly, but that's just the nature of the game," Durant said. “So I quickly just thought about who I was comfortable with, which coaching staff would just let me be me and understand what I bring to the table.

"(Houston coach Ime Udoka) has always been one of those guys that understood what I brought to the table, my mentality and my approach to the game. He always respected that and gave me my space to be me. That was one of the first things I thought about.”

The Suns and Durant's relationship was originally a very strong one, even with Phoenix not achieving a lot of success with Durant and Bradley Beal on the roster, but was quickly fractured when it was leaked to Durant that Phoenix was shopping him ahead of last season's trade deadline.

Phoenix and owner Mat Ishbia decided to go in a different direction this offseason, and Ishbia said last week that Durant "just wasn't a fit for what we're doing going forward."

The Suns ended up getting Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, No. 31 pick Rasheer Fleming, No. 41 pick Koby Brea and a 2026 second-round pick in exchange for Durant.

Durant recently explained the process of what led to the trade.

"I would say around February, the Suns had pretty much let the league know that I was on the market," Durant said. "Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns. And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that's just the name of the game.

"So I got over that quickly and was trying to figure out what the next steps were. I heard Golden State was in the mix around the trade deadline, but that's when (Durant's agent and business partner) Rich (Kleiman) came into play and those relationships that we built around the league and also playing in Golden State helped. We was able to tell them kind of hold off on that.

"Since me being on the market in February when there's also a trade deadline, people were just kind of seeing how their seasons played out and what they needed for their teams. And we knew we would revisit that right around the summertime, and Houston kind of jumped on, and it happened pretty fast from there."

Now, Durant, who is still at the top of his game despite his age, is on a team he said he hopes to sign a contract extension with as he enters the final season of his current deal.

The Suns, meanwhile, have already started adjusting to life without Durant and Beal, beginning training camp last week.

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