Kevin Durant did everything in his power to shift focus from Suns trade rumors to basketball

After hearing his name pop up in Phoenix Suns trade rumors over the last week, Kevin Durant could’ve taken one of two paths when speaking to the media for the first time on Monday: He could’ve chosen violence and made it clear he wanted out of Phoenix after the front office reportedly dangled him in Jimmy Butler trade talks, or he could’ve taken the high road and defused an uncomfortable situation.

Fortunately, he chose the latter option, speaking with the media at length for nearly 13 minutes about his reaction to the trade rumors, his future in Phoenix and the state of the Suns approaching the All-Star break.

Before we begin, I highly recommend watching the full video, because the context of hearing Durant answer these questions will land a lot better compared to judging some quote graphic on Twitter or even reading any of the quotes from the text below.

Kevin Durant addresses Suns trade rumors

In the days leading up to the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, multiple reports emerged that the Suns were considering sending Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors in a three-team deal to acquire Jimmy Butler.

It didn’t make sense at the time, and one source told PHNX Sports those rumors were “completely made up.” But since then, multiple sources told PHNX Sports that this was simply a case of the Suns trying to do damage control after Durant shut down the deal himself, reaffirming his preference to stay in Phoenix rather than reunite with Stephen Curry in Golden State.

So what was Durant’s reaction to all of this?

“It’s just part of the business,” Durant said. “Everybody’s bought and sold in this league, so anybody could be up for auction. You know what I mean? So I understand that. And it’s just about getting back on the court and trying to go out there and play the game that I love. It’s a part of business though, man. We all gotta understand that.”

Kevin Durant has dealt with outside noise his entire career, but with reports that he was “blindsided” by being included in trade talks, it was reasonable to wonder how he was reacting to the whole situation.

“I understand the business, and that’s what we all signed up for,” Durant said. “And nobody’s above the system. How much status I got and how much I’ve acquired in this league, you’re still not above the business, and I always understood that.”

Durant is aware of his standing and value in the league. Aside from being an all-time great, he’s still the Suns’ best player at age 36, averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 blocks per game on .524/.398/.827 shooting splits. Phoenix’s 2-11 record in games without KD available speaks to a lot of flaws with the Suns’ roster construction and lack of fight in general this season, but above all else, it’s a testament to how valuable Durant is on both ends of the floor.

And yet, that value can also have its adverse side effects when it comes to trade rumors.

“It’s a double-edged sword, when you build yourself up to be this great and you do it for this long, shit like that happens, you know?” Durant explained. “It’s not a bad thing that people around the league want me to play for ’em. It’s not a bad thing that my organization here is fighting off people to keep me on a team, or even dangle me in trades. That’s just a part of the high demand, you know? So I can understand that part of it.”

It was an awfully understanding approach for a 15-time All-Star who’s 26 points away from becoming the eighth player in NBA history to crack 30,000 career points. And although he had to crack a grin when asked about dealing with noise like this before — because, as KD reminded everyone in attendance, he had not experienced something like this before — Durant continually chose to try and mend bridges rather than tear them down.

When asked whether his relationship with the front office had changed since the trade deadline, Durant politely declined to comment publicly on those personal relationships, saying he didn’t think it was “fair to the people involved in that.” When asked about the report that he was “blindsided,” Durant said he was surprised to hear his name come up, but reasserted that this is a business and his reaction doesn’t matter. And when asked whether he felt he deserved a heads up on those conversations, KD again handled it like a professional.

“I don’t deserve nothing, I gotta work to earn and get everything,” Durant said. “I don’t deserve anything, I don’t expect anything from any person. I’m not entitled to anything. I just go out there and do my job, and if I’m compensated for doing my job, cool. If not, I move on. That’s how I kinda look at stuff.”

The obvious follow-up question to all of this is whether Kevin Durant still feels some type of way about the Suns. Publicly and privately, he’s been consistent about wanting to be in Phoenix, loving the Suns, and preferring to retire in the Valley if possible.

It was natural to wonder if hearing his name being dangled in trade talks had changed the calculus there. After all, this was the first time in his career that a team was considering moving him without his consent, and Durant is only under contract for one more season beyond this one. He and the Suns chose not to sign a one-year extension last offseason, instead looking ahead to the summer of 2025, when he’ll be eligible for a two-year, $123.8 million extension.

But Durant stayed consistent there as well, echoing the same sentiments he had at the start of the season whenever he was asked about potential extensions beyond this year.

“I always had a goal of just playing my contract out and seeing what happens,” Durant said. “I can’t focus on a year-and-a-half down the line. I try to focus on the day ahead of me.”

Of course, Kevin Durant also understands that type of uncertainty — combined with all these trade rumors and reports that he’s now discontent in Phoenix — will fuel a new wave of body language doctors and pundits constantly trying to measure the “vibes” in the Valley.

“I know that’ll be a topic,” he said. “That’s probably the most frustrating part about being in a trade talks is that the microscope’s gonna be on solely just me the rest of the season. And my body language, how I speak to you guys after the games, how I’m looking on the bench, that stuff will be magnified. Which sucks, but like I said, that’s a part of the business I gotta just deal with and accept. But if I keep the main thing the main thing, then that could be the main focus. We turn around and play well, people will focus on that.”

As much as the conversation around Kevin Durant seems to revolve around anything but basketball, for him, that continues to be his main driver. So rather than worry about the fans and media constantly analyzing his every facial expression on the bench (“I’d drive myself crazy, man”), he’s staying committed to the sweat equity that he and his teammates and coaches are trying to build every day.

“This is the most important thing,” Durant said, gesturing to his teammates getting up shots after practice. “When that ball is bouncing and we in here together as a unit and as a family. So I look forward to that every day.”

Durant added that experiencing these types of trade rumors became easier once he was able to get back out on the court with his teammates and coaches.

“I reflected a little bit in the last few days, I think I was more frustrated that I was injured and that I couldn’t play through the noise and the bullshit and I had to sit and just listen to it,” Durant said. “Usually your play can overshadow some of that stuff, but that’s probably the most frustrating thing.”

He also understands it’s the front office people he doesn’t deal with as frequently that were making these decisions, and that it’s his job — and his teammates’ job — to change their thought process.

“I wish we could be playing better, and I know we could be better,” Durant said of the 26-26 Suns. “That’s what happens when you not winning games and you spend a lot of money on the team and you get a lot of scrutiny and criticism for what you’re doing as a front office or ownership group. So yeah, if somebody is gonna be up for discussions, that’s just a part of the game. It’s on us as players that go out there and change the minds of people making those decisions and get our fans behind us and following us and supporting us even more.”

After Luka Doncic was traded and Kevin Durant found his name coming up in trade rumors, it became clear to everyone involved that nobody in this league is safe. But despite the Suns trying to move him for a worse player, despite clearly feeling some type of way about it, and despite the potential discontent that something like that could breed, Durant reasserted his desire to be in Phoenix, shot down ESPN’s report about a “toxic” locker room and admitted frustration that his happiness was coming into question, when he was not the one who wanted to be traded.

“Yeah, that’s a little frustrating that it’s gonna be in question, because I never even insinuated that I wanted to move teams,” Durant said. “So yeah, my happiness will be evaluated, when it should be the front office’s happiness that you should be monitoring every day, just ’cause they make these decisions.

“So I get that I’m more visible than everybody and I got the bigger name, so everybody’s gonna try to understand what my feelings are like in this time, but there’s more than just me that goes through this situation. There’s a lot of people involved. So I guess you want to understand my feelings, but it should be a lot of other people’s feelings that you should be trying to figure out too and see where it heads at.”

To be fair, Kevin Durant’s comments on Monday — as positive and reassuring as they were — do not suddenly mean this relationship has been salvaged. The Suns could very well try to deal him again in the offseason, especially if Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause remains an obstacle to reconfiguring the roster. Everyone should understand that by now.

But after conflicting reports about the Suns dangling Kevin Durant, and after general manager James Jones remained mum on the subject, Durant would’ve been well within his rights to burn the whole thing to the ground on Monday.

Instead, he tried to shift the focus to basketball, where he’s consistently tried to keep it, and reaffirmed his desire to be part of the solution rather than the problem…even if he had to be the one shooting down trades himself.

“Whoever calls me and tells me I need to go, then I gotta go,” Durant said. “But like I said, I want to stay here and figure this thing out and see this thing through. So if I could get in the way of something like a trade, then why not?”