By definition, the mere existence of a Kevin Durant trade was always going to be a loss for the Phoenix Suns. After all they gave up to acquire Durant in 2023, and given how little the team accomplished during his two-and-a-half-year tenure in the Valley, only a serious haul could’ve overshadowed the inherent defeat of moving on from an all-time great — and even then, it would’ve come with the unmistakable disappointment of skyrocketing expectations (and payrolls) falling by the wayside.
In other words, a Kevin Durant trade would’ve signaled a turning of the page for Suns basketball regardless of the return. But Sunday’s reported deal leaves a lot of room for interpretation as to what that next chapter will look like.
As first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Suns agreed to send KD to the Houston Rockets, one of his three desired locations, in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft (Phoenix’s own selection) and five second-round picks. According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, those selections include No. 59 in this year’s draft, two second-rounders in 2026, a 2030 second-rounder from the Boston Celtics, and Houston’s 2032 second-rounder.
And as ESPN’s Bobby Marks pointed out, due to the poison pill restriction in Jalen Green’s contract, this deal won’t be made official until July 6. That will give Suns fans a few weeks to reflect on an era of Suns basketball that never lived up to the hype…and process a return that feels underwhelming.
Kevin Durant trade marks the end of a disappointing era
Durant gets unfairly blamed for a lot of his team’s struggles, which is odd, considering how much blame there was to go around for the most disappointing season in franchise history. While the Suns have had worse seasons with far fewer notches in the win column, last year’s team entered the season with title-or-bust expectations. It was a complete bust.
Having a worse ending to a season than 2024’s first-round sweep is hard to do, but the Suns missed the play-in entirely, and it was clear there was a team-wide disconnect under Mike Budenholzer. They had no identity, no chemistry on the court, and they routinely looked lifeless, despite a lack of animosity in the locker room. Durant is hardly blameless, but it’d be foolish to pin the blame of such rampant, widespread problems on one player.
With that being said, the Kevin Durant era in Phoenix may have topped Shaquille O’Neal’s brief stint in the Valley as the most disappointing in franchise history when one considers expectations — not because KD failed, but because the team fell so miserably short of its goal. With Bradley Beal’s massive contract and Devin Booker being untouchable as the face of the franchise, trading Durant became Phoenix’s only recourse for resetting the table.
It’s a pity, because Durant played at an elite level over his two seasons and change in Phoenix. He averaged a 27-6-5-1-1 stat line on near 53-43-85 shooting splits, earned two All-Star selections and an All-NBA selection, and doubled as the Suns’ best defensive player during that time as well. When Devin Booker was drilling 3s and holding the follow-through in that 2023 first-round matchup with the LA Clippers, and KD was howling to the rafters and calling the performance spiritual, it felt like the dawning of a new era in Phoenix.
Unfortunately, it was short-lived. That was the only playoff series the Suns won during Durant’s time in Phoenix. The Suns lost in six games to the Denver Nuggets in their second-round matchup, and though the future seemed bright at the time — KD and Book singlehandedly took the eventual champs further than anybody else! Imagine if the Suns get them help! — the Suns failed in their subsequent moves. Pivoting from an aging Chris Paul to Bradley Beal, and then trading Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen, were the real pitfalls of this era of Suns basketball, not the pricey Kevin Durant trade itself.
Injuries, failed coaching hires and a lack of identity plagued the Suns over the next two seasons, resulting in one playoff appearance and zero playoff wins. It’s a thoroughly demoralizing final tally from a period where Phoenix acquired a living legend to pair with a superstar like Booker, and no trade — even if the Suns had extracted some superstar haul — was ever going to change that.
There will be time for more reflection on how the Suns failed to properly build on such a promising union later, but for now, the Kevin Durant trade itself obviously takes centerstage in that conversation.
Breaking down the Kevin Durant trade
On the one hand, the Suns technically checked off most of the boxes they were targeting in a Kevin Durant trade. They wanted multiple starting-caliber players who could help keep Phoenix competitive in the aftermath of trading away a top-10 player, and they got that, since Brooks and Green were both starters on a team that finished second in the Western Conference.
The Suns wanted to add at least one young-but-established player who could help them in the interim and still has room to grow. Green technically fits the bill since he’s still only 23, and although his abysmal first playoff outing leaves plenty of doubt about what his ceiling looks like, there is — by the strictest definition — definitely still “room to grow” there.
Finally, the Suns wanted draft compensation. They got that by getting back their own top-10 selection in this year’s draft. As PHNX Sports had reported weeks ago, that 2025 first-rounder was far more coveted by Phoenix than their 2027 and 2029 first-round selections that Houston controlled — not just because it’s a top-10 pick, but because the Suns project that pick being far more valuable than their picks in 2027 and 2029.
Whether or not they’re correct in this belief, the Suns believe they’ll be a contender again by that point in time, which means those picks won’t hold as much value. There’s also the obvious advantage of getting an extra first-round pick now, when the Suns could use more youth, athleticism and cheaper, cost-effective salaries. Adding five second-round picks — even if one of them is the literal last pick in this year’s draft — helps replenish some of Phoenix’s draft stores, giving them extra sweeteners for future deals or a few more bites at the apple in the draft.
On the other hand, Durant’s trade market was nowhere near as robust as expected. Despite the perception that Durant’s list of preferred destinations would limit Phoenix’s potential trade partners, multiple suitors outside Houston, Miami and San Antonio expressed interest, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors; the offers simply weren’t good enough for the soon-to-be 37-year-old.
For example, one source intimated that Miami never seriously pursued Durant, refusing to include Kel’el Ware and failing to ever come close to their best offer back in February, when they reportedly offered Jimmy Butler and Josh Richardson.
As far as the Suns’ return is concerned, Green is young, he’s basically been a 20-points-per-game scorer for the last three years, and he does provide some much-needed youth, athleticism and downhill mentality that Phoenix has lacked for a while.
But he’s also inefficient, shooting 42.3 percent from the field and a career-high 35.4 percent from 3 last year. That last number came on a whopping 8.1 attempts per game, and while the Suns need to shoot more 3s, Green’s suspect shot selection and middling efficiency makes him a less-than-ideal partner in a Devin Booker-led backcourt that wants to return to contention in the near future.
There was plenty of chatter over the last week about Phoenix gauging Green’s value around the league to potentially loop in a third team to take on his salary, but a source confirmed the Suns plan to keep him. Multiple sources said the Suns feel good about the backcourt fit of Booker and Green together.
However, Green’s contract will be a difficult pill to swallow (not to be confused with his poison pill provision!) if it doesn’t work out. Green starts the first year of his three-year, $105 million extension next season, which means he’s on the books for approximately $33.3 million next year, $36 million in 2026-27, and has a $36 million player option for 2027-28.
Two or three years doesn’t sound like much, but considering Booker will be in his 30s by the time Green’s contract ends, that’s a significant investment in a questionable fit. If it doesn’t pan out, it could prove difficult to move Green and get positive value in return later on.
Although he’s already 29, Dillon Brooks is more of an immediate positive addition. The Suns want to establish a new culture and identity in Phoenix, built on defensive-minded, tough, gritty players who play with an edge; Brooks is the embodiment of all those traits, which owner Mat Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory have spent the last few weeks talking about. During exit interviews a few weeks back, Ishbia even went as far as saying, “There’s gonna be players that sometimes we don’t take the most talented player because they don’t align with what we believe in.”
In other words, the writing was on the wall for the Suns adding a player exactly like Brooks. Though he’s widely perceived as one of the least likable players in the league, Brooks just spent the last year bolstering the NBA’s second-ranked defense. Love him or hate him, Brooks is a villain, a hard-nosed competitor and a physical defender.
Brooks brings some of the swagger Phoenix has lacked since Jae Crowder and Chris Paul were still on the roster, and one source described him as “one of the toughest, hardest-working, best defensive players.” Another described him as “a leader and an alpha,” which Phoenix could obviously use.
Finally, someone familiar with both Brooks and Green from his time in the NBA said: “Dillon and Jalen are elite. Warrior mentalities and show up to battle every single night. Dillon [is] one of the best teammates I’ve had. Jalen too. [Phoenix] got two great ones.”
There will be more time to dive deeper into Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks’ games (check back soon!). But for the time being, Phoenix will be hoping Brooks’ career shooting year transfers over to Phoenix. Last season, Brooks made 39.7 percent of his 6.3 long-range attempts per game — both career highs.
However, that can’t be an anomaly if Phoenix expects him to produce on offense, since it was only the second season of Brooks’ eight-year career where he shot better than 36 percent from 3. He’s routinely hovered around 42-43 percent shooting from the floor, so the Suns will be banking heavily on his 3-ball holding up and all that grit and toughness he supplies on the defensive end.
Brooks is only on the books for $21.2 million next season and $20 million the season after that, making his contract a lot easier to shed down the line if need be. He can help the Suns for the next 1-2 years, or he could have value if he’s eventually flipped to a contender.
It’s suboptimal that we’re already speculating on the long-term futures of the two main players Phoenix got back in this Kevin Durant trade, but now that the Suns addressed the biggest item on their summer to-do list, the question is: What’s next?
What’s next for Suns after Kevin Durant trade
Green is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, and Brooks is a 6-foot-6 wing. With Booker, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale still on the roster, it’s pretty clear something has to give on the wings. Phoenix still needs more size, and with four picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, one source said the Suns will be looking to exit draft night with 2-3 players that they believe can make their roster next year.
Adding more size on the wing and bolstering the center position will be chief among their concerns, according to a source. The Suns like both Nick Richards and Oso Ighodaro at the 5, but Ighodaro still needs time to develop, and Richards is a fringe starter/backup. That search for more size could start at pick No. 10, where center prospects like Khaman Maluach and Danny Wolf are projected to fall, as well as wings like Carter Bryant or Cedric Coward.
Their search could extend to pick No. 27, where a number of wings could still be available, or it could even go into free agency, at which point Phoenix will hope to have freed up up its mid-level exception by ducking those pesky tax aprons.
The Suns will decline Vasa Micic’s $8.1 million team option, and Cody Martin’s non-guaranteed $8.7 million salary could be another cap casualty as well. Phoenix does like Martin, so that may depend on how draft night and trade market shake out. Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are other tradable contracts that could be on the move if the right deal arises. But the biggest obstacle to freeing up that MLE is undoubtedly Bradley Beal’s $53.7 million salary.
How Phoenix actually navigates that roadblock is up for debate. Finding a trade partner for Beal — without having to attach significant draft assets — feels unlikely. That would leave the Suns to negotiate a buyout with Beal, and then waive-and-stretch the remaining, agreed-upon amount over the next five years. It’s a move that would provide short-term relief and long-term complications, but Beal doesn’t seem to align with the traits Phoenix is prioritizing, and something has to give now that they’ve added Jalen Green to an already crowded shooting guard depth chart.
The nuclear option would be threatening to bench Beal, which wouldn’t be too far outside the realm of possibility, since this is the same team that demoted him to a sixth man role midway through the season. Although he eventually returned to the starting lineup, the writing seems to be on the wall for Beal between his injury woes, the arrival of Green, and the remaining $110.8 million left on his deal. Don’t be surprised for talks of a buyout to resurface.
Time will tell if it comes to that more drastic measure, but for now, the Kevin Durant trade was the perfect exemplification of taking a step backward in order to move forward.
