Opinion: How Suns Made It Foregone Conclusion To Move on from Kevin Durant

In a lot of ways, the Suns are at fault for the disappointing end to Durant's 2.5 seasons in the Valley.

It became a foregone conclusion the Suns had to move him after shopping him ahead of the trade deadline without his knowledge. Then, Durant vetoed a trade that would have sent him to the Golden State Warriors.

After this report leaked, several other teams reportedly made inquiries for Durant, but the Suns moved forward with him on the roster to close out the season.

Phoenix ended up finishing the year 36-46, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and fractured its relationship with Durant in the process.

This brought an abrupt end to a relationship between the Suns and Durant that was filled with more lows than highs after he was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in Feb. 2023.

The 36-year-old Durant still performed at an all-time great level during his time in Phoenix, averaging 26.6 points on .527/.430/.839 splits, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks this season, but missing the All-NBA threshold by three games, but the Suns only won one playoff series with him on the roster way back in 2023 and have 0 total playoff wins since.

Phoenix went above and beyond to try to load up on star talent around Durant and Devin Booker, acquiring Bradley Beal in the summer of 2023, depleting almost all of their future assets to acquire the star tandem of Beal and Durant.

After being swept in the first round of the playoffs in 2024, Suns entered the 2024-25 season with the highest payroll in NBA history, going above and beyond the luxury tax under owner Mat Ishbia, but it clearly did not pay dividends.

Durant remained a professional through the Suns' disheartening season, even after he stated the following after the trade deadline situation:

"That's probably the most frustrating part about being in trade talks is that microscope is going to be solely on me the rest of the season."

When the Suns were officially eliminated from playoff contention, it became even more obvious they put themselves in the position they had to move on from Durant this offseason.

Now, Durant lands with the Rockets after a whirlwind of rumors.

The Suns have officially began the process of reshaping their roster without Durant, and he could be just the first of a few players to be traded away from Phoenix this offseason.