As the Kevin Durant landscape continues to unfold heading into the NBA trade deadline on Thursday, and the Phoenix Suns continue to gauge the market for the 15-time All-Star and former MVP, the Golden State Warriors aren’t the only team trying to find a way to land the 36-year-old superstar.
League sources say the Dallas Mavericks, fresh off their Luka Dončić-for-Anthony Davis swap that sent shockwaves through the Association, have dreams of adding Durant to their Davis-Kyrie Irving-led group. While the likelihood of Dallas pulling this off now appears unlikely, the mere idea of Durant joining Dallas’ star-studded group sheds new light on the thinking of Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison after he was roundly ridiculed for the Dončić deal. Whether it’s Durant (now or later), or perhaps even the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James in the summer if he were to decline his player option for next season, the 52-year-old Harrison appears to be targeting big-time stars with whom he’s very familiar from his past life as a top Nike executive. The goal, of course, is to win a championship as soon as possible.
With Durant’s deal expiring in the summer of 2026, and the Suns continuing to fall well short of the title contention they’d envisioned when they traded for him in February 2023, rival teams have been monitoring his situation, and the possibility of his availability, for quite some time. And not surprisingly, given Durant’s status as one of the all-time greats, there is no shortage of competition.
League sources say the Houston Rockets, whose longtime interest in the Suns’ Devin Booker is likely to be revisited before the deadline, are known to be contemplating a pursuit of Durant as well. While the Rockets (32-17) have not been interested in pursuing older stars like James Harden and Durant in the recent past, the impressive speed of their rebuild may have changed the internal equation on that front. They are currently third in the Western Conference, with every reason to believe a game-changing addition at the deadline might vault them into true title contender status.
The Suns, meanwhile, simply must figure out how to fix their underperforming core. They have lost three of their last four games, falling to 25-24 overall and tied with Golden State for 10th in the West, and continue to fall short in their long-held pursuit of Miami’s Jimmy Butler because of the Bradley Beal factor. As has been widely reported, the Heat don’t have interest in the 31-year-old guard who has a no-trade clause and who, coincidentally, is represented by Mark Bartelstein, the father of Josh Bartelstein, who is the Suns’ CEO and said to be very involved in these negotiations.
A league source close to Beal reiterated on Tuesday that there are currently no talks about him waiving the clause, and that he expects to remain in Phoenix through the deadline. Enter Durant, who could provide an alternate pathway to landing Butler.
With Butler continuing to angle his way toward the Suns, Phoenix might need to move Durant for the kind of returns that allows it to enhance its offer to Miami. As of now, league sources say the Suns’ messaging about their willingness to trade Durant is different depending on the team.
In exploratory conversations, the Warriors have only been met with an exorbitant asking price in theoretical structures — essentially everything of future value — considering the tricky spot the Suns seem to find themselves. League sources say four-time All-Star forward Draymond Green, who has an established relationship with fellow Michigan State alum and Suns owner Mat Ishbia, is among the Warriors players Phoenix is known to covet.
After the Warriors downed the Orlando Magic on Monday night, Green discussed the reality that owner Joe Lacob might be compelled to make a franchise-altering move here.
“We all know (Lacob is) pissed sitting at .500,” Green said. “You’d be a fool to sit back and think like, ‘Ah, man, everything (is OK).’ Not with that guy. That guy is always trying to win, always pushing the envelope as much as he can.
“You gotta expect they’ll be aggressive. … Luka Dončić just got traded, so everyone thinks everything is possible at this point, right?”
Draymond Green on the trade deadline
“We all know (Joe Lacob’s) pissed sitting at .500. You’d be a fool to sit back and think everything (is OK). Not with that guy.”
“You gotta expect they’ll be aggressive.”
“Luka Dončić just got traded. So everyone think everything possible.” pic.twitter.com/qEpSARscwr
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 4, 2025
The Suns also have indicated a level of interest in fourth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, a player the Warriors drafted seventh overall in 2021, have been protective of in most trade discussions for years and still view as part of the future. But Durant’s potential availability, and this once-unthinkable notion of him reuniting with the franchise he helped lead to two titles, has a way of altering the discussion.
Kuminga will be a restricted free agent this summer and is searching for an annual salary upwards of $30 million. Both the Warriors and Suns have cluttered salary structures, but both ownership groups have shown a willingness to pay up for players they desire. The Warriors also have a potential path to help guide Butler to Phoenix, if they pull the trigger on an Andrew Wiggins-centric trade with Miami that has been discussed.
But a wider Durant market generates greater leverage, especially when dealing with an increasingly impatient Warriors front office that has failed in its most recent star pursuits and will see its own star, Stephen Curry, turn 37 next month as his team labors through a 25-24 season.
It might not be what the Warriors want to hear, but they’re not alone here.
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
