Suns may have done irreparable damage to relationship with Kevin Durant

The Phoenix Suns spent the final days leading up to the trade deadline shopping Kevin Durant. Their failed attempts to convince Bradley Beal to move teams left them with little alternative if they wanted to retool their roster.

Durant, 36, is a top-10 player in the NBA. He's a future Hall of Famer. Furthermore, he's been a reliable member of the Suns roster despite the dysfunction that has surrounded the team over the last 18 months. 

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Durant is unhappy with the Suns' decision to shop him around the league. As such, there is now an expectation that he could look to change teams during the summer.

“He was not happy he was put into trade talks," Windhorst said via "The Hoop Collective Podcast." "I think it's unpredictable what will happen for the next few months because it's the nature of the sport, but I think right now it is reasonable to forecast that Durant will be breaking up with the Suns in the summer.”

Durant will undoubtedly have a market for his services. Even at his current age, there aren't many better scorers in the league. His experience as a two-time champion will also be seen as invaluable for any team that looks to acquire him. 

What's worse is the Suns now come away from this scenario looking like the bad guy. Durant is the reason the front office went all-in on the current Big Three era. His arrival in 2023 changed the direction of the team. That was Phoenix's choice, not Durant's. How it convinces stars to head out to Arizona in the future is going to be interesting, as some trust has undoubtedly been lost. 

If Durant does leave the Suns in the summer, their championship window is likely over. They will be stuck with Beal unless he waives his no-trade clause and have little way of improving the roster. Phoenix took a big gamble when shopping Durant for a trade; now, it would appear it's about to pay the price.