Suns and Durant working on trade with five teams interested

Charania on Suns and Durant working on trade:

No surprises on the list of teams interested in the 15-time All-Star. Reports indicated that the Rockets were building up to trade for Durant last offseason, when the franchise traded for the Suns’ future draft picks from the Brooklyn Nets. Houston holds the leverage over Phoenix and other teams as the draft assets are valuable to general manager Brian Gregory.

Charania reported recently that the Knicks tried to trade for the 36-year-old during the NBA trade deadline but couldn’t finalized a deal. Miami and general manager Pat Riley are always star hunting and could try to replace Jimmy Butler with another All-Star. And after being eliminated in back-to-back Western Conference Finals in five games, the Timberwolves are finally ready to take the next step to pair young star Anthony Edwards with an established star.

However, San Antonio seems to be the favorite, as even Durant believes he’s going to end up there. The Spurs have a lottery pick in this year’s draft and multiple valuable trade draft assets to the Suns, while giving back young, win now players to keep them competitive.

Phoenix could add players like Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and more in any Durant trade. San Antonio has the future face of the league in Victor Wembanyama and want to face track the team into contenders by adding the former MVP to the roster. The Spurs were on pace to make a Play-In push last season before a blood clots scared ended Wembanyama and the team’s season.

A Durant trade will likely happen after the conclusion of the NBA Finals but before the NBA draft near the end of this month. Gregory and his staff have plenty of time to look through offers that will help reset the franchise heading into next season with new head coach Jordan Ott at the helm.