Raptors Make One Player Off Limits in Kevin Durant Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt R. John | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 3:28 PM ET

Unless the Phoenix Suns make any surprise decisions, Kevin Durant will be on a new team this offseason. Given how badly things have gone in Phoenix, including missing the playoffs in 2025, it's understandable that it wants to change things up.

It's all a matter of what Phoenix could get back for him. Even though Durant is 36 years old, he has plenty of suitors. That includes the Toronto Raptors, who have playoff aspirations for next year despite also missing 2025 postseason.

The Raptors have an interesting trade package to offer for Durant. They have the No. 9 pick in a loaded draft, which would allow Phoenix to start a youth movement if it wants to. In addition, the Suns could offer Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, both younger players, to match Durant's salary in a trade.

Toronto may be willing to offer quite a few assets for Durant, but it appears that one player is off the table. Sportsnet's Michael Grange revealed that, despite the Suns' wishes, the Raptors will not include Jakob Poeltl in any Durant deal.

"Multiple sources have confirmed to me that Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl would not be part of any deal — however unlikely a Raptors-Suns deal might be — centred around Durant," Grange wrote. "The Suns were asking for Poeltl at the trade deadline and got a firm ‘no’ back then, but that hasn’t stopped them from asking, apparently."

The Raptors are monitoring Kevin Durant's situation but if a deal were to come together with the Suns, centre Jakob Poeltl would not be part of any trade, @michaelgrange reports. https://t.co/8oozvv6e0a
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 20, 2025

One of the Suns' most significant problems when they had Durant was their lack of a polished center. That explains why they would want someone like Poeltl, but if the Raptors did a trade like that, they would have the same problem.

Toronto's unwillingness to deal its seven-foot center, in addition to the Raptors not being on Durant's preferred list, makes a deal seem unlikely.

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

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