Kevin Durant to stay with Suns after being ‘blindsided’ by trade rumours

Kevin Durant‘s place on the Phoenix Suns might suddenly be in flux after hearing his name floated in some rumours ahead of the deadline.

After reportedly fielding calls on the 15-time All-Star and coming close to a trade with the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, the Suns chose to hold onto the superstar forward past the 3 p.m. ET deadline on Thursday.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, multiple teams were on the line with the Suns on Thursday trying to see if they could make something work to acquire Durant’s services after rumours started floating earlier in the week.

“There are multiple teams making really aggressive calls to the Suns on Kevin Durant,” Charania said on ESPN’s trade deadline special. “He had made it clear that he did not want a reunion with the Warriors. The Warriors made a very strong pursuit of him over the last week. Several calls are continuing to pour in.”

In the end, rather than pushing for a reunion with Durant, the Warriors settled on acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat in a blockbuster deal. Durant reportedly had reservations about a return to the Bay Area and did not want to be traded back to the team he won two titles with in 2017 and 2018.

ESPN’s Bob Myers later reported that the Memphis Grizzlies had also been one of the teams to check in on Durant, with the second-place Western Conference squad intent on pushing for a title.

Charania clarified that Durant did not request a trade from the Suns and that all the conversations around a potential deal have “blindsided” him.

Durant sat out Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with ankle soreness, giving further credence to the possibility of a trade. Instead, Pheonix opted to stick with its core after trading away centre Jusuf Nurkic and acquiring guard Vasilije Micic and forward Cody Martin from the Charlotte Hornets.

“They want to see how this team looks for the second half of the season,” Charania said.

However, he added that there would be a full evaluation in Phoenix if they are unable to turn things around in the latter portion of the year. As it stands, Phoenix is in the midst of a three-game skid and is 25-25 on the year, good for 10th in the Western Conference.

Despite the Suns’ struggles, Durant has remained an impact scorer even at age 36. In 39 games this season, he is averaging 26.9 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting just below 40 per cent from three.

The former MVP is eligible for a two-year, $120 million extension after this season.