Bargain Kevin Durant Trade Idea Would Send KD to Magic originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

There have been discussions about what the next chapter of Kevin Durant’s career is. There’s a belief that the Phoenix Suns are willing to part ways with the four-time Olympic gold medalist. Amid the talk, the Orlando Magic has been brought up as a potential destination for the veteran star.

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According to Kevin O’Connor, the Magic should be considered to be Durant’s next team. Orlando, led by the forward tandem of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, secured a 41-41 record. They made the playoffs but fell short against the Boston Celtics and were eventually eliminated in the first round.

O’Connor believes having a player like KD could solve some of the Magic’s offensive problems.

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant drives to the hoop past Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac.Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

O’Connor’s proposal was for the Magic to trade Jonathan Isaac, Cole Anthony and two future first-round picks.

“For Orlando, to me, this is a no-brainer,” O’Connor said. “You’re one of the crappiest 3-point shooting teams in the entire NBA. Kevin Durant immediately, dramatically, improves that.”

Last season, Orlando ranked at the bottom of the entire league in 3-point percentage. As a team, they shot 31.8% on 35.3 attempts, which put them at the bottom. It went worse during the playoffs, as the Magic averaged 26.3%, and were the only team to not average at least 30% from deep. In the regular season, Caleb Houstan was their best 3-point shooter, who averaged 40%.

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However, acquiring the two-time Finals MVP could create a problem with the team’s rotation. The Magic will have three players who are at least 6-foot-10 and are all capable shot makers.

The question is: Do the Magic start all three forwards or assign someone to come off the bench?

Related: Orlando Magic a Team to Watch This Offseason, Insider Says

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.

For a variety of reasons, Kevin Durant is probably going to net less in a trade than the Phoenix Suns might like. Consider the following:

When Durant has moved in the past, it has always been as almost indisputably a top-five player in the NBA (when healthy). That isn’t the case anymore. The metrics are mostly unkind to him: 29th in BPM, 32nd in EPM, 48th in estimated RAPTOR and 84th in Win Shares per 48 Minutes, just to name a few. Where exactly he still falls in the league hierarchy is subjective, but for the first time, it’s plausible to believe that his all-time ranking (somewhere in the 15-20 range, most believe) is higher than his ranking among the best players for the 2025-26 season.

The Suns bear some responsibility for those to disappointing metrics, but most of it is just because of age. Durant will be 37-years-old on opening night, and there are things he just doesn’t do as well anymore. He doesn’t really get to the basket anymore, taking just two shots per game in the restricted area. His free-throw rate has been down in Phoenix, though not nearly to the extent his rim numbers are. As he’s never been an especially potent playmaker, you’re mostly just getting a jump-shooter on offense. Now, he’s a Kevin Durant-level jump-shooter, but you typically want more creation out of a player making the money Durant is making. He’s mostly going to be a shot-maker at this stage of his career.

Speaking of money, he is currently slated to be the fourth-highest-paid player in what will likely be the most financially perilous season in recent, non-COVID-affected NBA history. The luxury tax formula gets harsher this year. The full impact of the aprons is starting to set in. Teams are cautious with their spending nowadays. They have to be. And Durant, given his age and injury history, comes with a significant amount of risk.

Durant is expensive, but he’s also on an expiring contract. That gives him meaningful leverage in directing the proceedings to a preferred destination. This doesn’t look to be an open bidding war. At the very least, Durant will be involved. At most, he could stick his thumb on the scale for a certain destination.

Durant is not Giannis Antetokounmpo. He is not a 30-year-old with multiple years left on his contract. He’s a risky bet, one that several teams are going to consider making, but at a price that reflects the uncertainty here. It is entirely reasonable to believe that a Durant trade could swing the 2026 championship. It could just as easily be a dud. The threat of age-related decline or a lengthy injury-induced absence is going to be baked into the cost of acquiring him. He will generate a lot of value for the Suns, but this won’t be anything close to the massive haul they paid the Nets for him just two years ago.

Ultimate NBA summer trade guide: 100 players, split into 11 tiers, who could be dealt during 2025 offseason Sam Quinn

So let’s try to figure out what exactly such a deal could look like. Below are six mock trades that send Durant to new homes as a way to attempt to estimate what the price on such a deal would look like. We’ll start with two franchises that would offer Durant the possibility of ending his career in the same state he jumped onto the scene as one of the best college basketball players in the game’s history.

Suns get: Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Jock Landale, No. 10 overall pick

Rockets get: Kevin Durant

Nets get: Aaron Holiday, 2026 second-round pick (via Thunder, Mavericks or 76ers)

You’ll notice most of Houston’s best assets are off of the table. No Amen Thompson. No Alperen Sengun. No 2027 or 2029 Suns picks. That stuff is off-limits for a 37-year-old. If it’s getting moved, it’s for someone who can be the long-term centerpiece. So Phoenix gets the B-listers here, each of whom, for some reason or another, has been crowded out of a long-term place in Houston.

With Thompson rising and a big name incoming, there aren’t as many on-ball reps available for Green. Smith is extension-eligible, but so is Tari Eason, and the Rockets are probably only paying to keep one of their young, defensive-minded forwards. The Rockets didn’t use last year’s No. 3 pick, Reed Sheppard, so there aren’t minutes available for No. 10 this year either.

Phoenix would be happy with Smith and the pick, but Green is a bit more complicated. In truth, they’d likely prefer Fred VanVleet to Green in this deal. They already have Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen. What do they need with another shooting guard? Well, Houston can’t sacrifice its point guard in a championship push, so it’s on the Suns to adapt. The obvious play here would be to turn either Green or Allen into a center somewhere, but the immediate fit is hard to find. As tempting as it would be to loop in, say, Chicago and send Nikola Vučević to Phoenix, there’s no way the Bulls are going to want to pay out three more years on Allen’s contract.

That leaves work for the Suns to do in this deal’s aftermath, but they’d ultimately be taking swings on two highly drafted young players and taking a swing on a third at No. 10. Would it improve their roster in the short-term? Absolutely not. But it would at least create upside for the future, and though Green and Booker share a position, they’re interesting fits given how differently they score. Green’s athleticism would theoretically pair nicely with Booker’s shot-making. The Suns lacked rim pressure a year ago. Green doesn’t generate nearly as much as he should yet, but he had very little space to work with in Houston. Maybe Smith-at-center lineups with this Suns team open the floor up for him.

The Rockets still have a bit of work to do here in the aftermath of this deal. By aggregating salaries for Durant, they’d hard-cap themselves at the second apron. That could get tight if they plan to re-sign Steven Adams. There’s an easy solution here: just decline VanVleet’s team option and re-sign him at a lower cap number, but for more years. That’s likely where this goes anyway, but a trade like this basically necessitates it. Still, the Rockets with Durant, VanVleet and their best young players could easily compete for the 2026 championship. With their best pick assets in reserve, they’d have room to take another swing down the line when Durant is gone.

The Nets are here to take on a contract. They get a second-round pick for their troubles, as Houston needed to dump a bit more money to avoid a first-apron hard cap. That moving Holiday opens up more bench minutes for Sheppard is a nice bonus.

Suns get: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes, No. 14 pick

Spurs get: Kevin Durant

The basic principle here is similar to the Houston deal. Phoenix gets two young players, one of whom was already paid (Vassell, who has four years and around $106 remaining on his deal), and another who is extension-eligible (Sochan, a defensive ace that can’t shoot yet). Toss in a late lottery pick and some expiring salary and we’ve got ourselves a trade package.

Once again, the fit for Phoenix is a tad awkward. Vassell has played plenty of small forward, but he’s closer to shooting guard-sized. More importantly, there’s a lot of overlap between he and Booker stylistically. Vassell takes too many mid-range jumpers and doesn’t really get to the basket or the line. Sochan’s defense would be welcome, but he’s not a center, so unless the Suns could find one that shoots, things might get a bit cramped offensively. Phoenix already has that issue with Ryan Dunn, so they’d have to hope that someone improves here or plot a follow-up move.

But, once again, the best assets are off-limits. The Spurs just can’t justify dangling Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle or the No. 2 overall pick for a a player this old. An interesting workaround here would be to offer De’Aaron Fox straight up for Durant. The Suns get a point guard who’d fit pretty well with Booker. The Spurs solve the backcourt logjam that frees them up to take Dylan Harper at No. 2 in the upcoming draft. But a Fox-for-Durant trade just isn’t how the NBA works. Fox pushed to get to San Antonio. Trading him now burns a bridge with his agent, the ultra-powerful Rich Paul, and stains your reputation around the league. Besides, Fox technically hasn’t extended yet. He just forced his way out of Sacramento because he wanted to compete for championships. Why wouldn’t he just do the same to the Suns in 2026 free agency?

Dylan Harper expected to be the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft but will it be by the Spurs? Cameron Salerno

So, as with their in-state rivals in Houston, we’re working with San Antonio’s secondary asset pool. The Spurs have to save their best tools for players who fit on Victor Wembanyama’s timeline. They’re so asset-rich that they can afford a luxury swing like this on Durant. With him, they’d be a legitimate championship contender. They’re just not going to lose the plot here. Wembanyama gives them a decade-long window or longer. They’d like to win now, but Durant will be retired before Wembanyama even hits his prime, so they’re going to preserve their best assets for that period.

Suns get: Julius Randle, Mike Conley, Goga Bitadze, Terrence Shannon Jr., No. 25 pick

Magic get: Donte DiVincenzo

Timberwolves get: Kevin Durant

Nets get: Gary Harris, No. 46 pick

We’ve talked about two asset-rich teams holding their best stuff back. Now, we’re talking about an asset-poor team holding its best stuff back. Jaden McDaniels is off-limits. Phoenix would surely be interested in a trade centered around Rudy Gobert. He’s one of the best defensive floor-raisers of all time, and Phoenix needs rim-protection badly. But Minnesota needs Gobert for its own championship push. Randle and Naz Reid are already pretty duplicative. That works out fine with a top defender in the mix, but without one, Minnesota’s roster is tilted too heavily towards offense.

So here’s our compromise. Phoenix gets Randle to serve as Booker’s offensive sidekick. He has some leverage here because of his player option, so the Suns would have to sign him to an extension to convince him to participate. We then use one of Minnesota’s best role players, DiVincenzo, to get the Suns a center in Bitadze. While he certainly doesn’t have Gobert’s reputation or accolades, he is a metrics darling defensively who is ready for a bigger role than the Magic have been able to give him. Orlando, meanwhile, turns a backup center into the shooting it so desperately needs. Win-win.

Magic’s playoff elimination hammers home an obvious fatal flaw: Orlando badly needs a scoring guard Sam Quinn

The picks and youth here aren’t as enticing as they are in the Texas deals, but Shannon just played good rotation minutes in the Western Conference finals as a rookie. Getting him for three more cheap seasons is a win, and the No. 25 pick from Orlando is the cherry on top. Conley isn’t a starting-caliber point guard anymore, but he can give the Suns nice bench minutes as he rides off into the sunset. If Minnesota had picks to offer, we’d put them on the table. The Gobert and Rob Dillingham trades deprived the Timberwolves of their draft capital. If the Suns prefer Dillingham’s youth and upside to Shannon, that might be negotiable.

Even without Gobert or McDaniels in the deal, this is a trickier trade for the Timberwolves than it might look. They’re giving up four likely 2026 rotation players for one, and because they’re aggregating, they’re hard-capping themselves at the second apron. That makes retaining Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in free agency while filling out the rest of the roster significantly more difficult. They could use the taxpayer mid-level exception to replace one if either leaves, but that’s an obvious downgrade. This would, in essence, be Minnesota trading the depth that was so significant to its last two playoff pushes to upgrade Randle into Durant. Doing so would have still been obvious in February. Now, after Randle finished the season strong (before the Thunder series, at least), it’s more of a question.

What’s next for Timberwolves? Minnesota at a crossroads after another Western Conference finals exit Sam Quinn

But, ultimately, the price here is so low that they’d have to pull the trigger. Anthony Edwards idolized Durant growing up. They played together on Team USA. This trade would as much be about appeasing their best player as it would be competing. Of course, it helps on the contention front as well. Randle was largely bad against the Thunder, and beating Oklahoma City is the goal here. Team president Tim Connelly has never shied away from risk. If he thinks Durant gives the Timberwolves a chance against the Thunder, he’ll roll the dice at the right price.

Suns get: Andrew Wiggins, Robert Williams III, Nikola Jović, 2030 first-round pick, 2032 first-round pick

Heat get: Kevin Durant

Trail Blazers get: Duncan Robinson

Miami has the least player value to offer here unless Kel’El Ware (probably no), Tyler Herro (almost certainly no) or Bam Adebayo (you’ve been beheaded for besmirching Heat Culture) were available. That means they’d have to supplement their offer with the most pick value. In this deal, we’ll let the Heat keep the No. 20 pick this year to help build depth. In exchange, the Suns get unprotected picks in 2030 and 2032, when Durant will be retired and Adebayo will be at or near the end of his prime.

Those picks would be valuable trade chips, and we can assume, based on Mat Ishbia’s history, that he’d likely dangle them for win-now help. He gets a bit of it in this deal. Wiggins has had an up-and-down last few years because of personal issues, but he’s somehow only 30-years-old and a pretty valuable two-way forward to put in a lineup next to Booker. Williams is the center we’ll snag for this deal. Portland has gotten too good to tank, but needs more shooting to help develop young guards Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. Robinson fills that need while solving Portland’s center logjam. Jović is probably a long-term reserve, but forwards who can shoot and pass are usually helpful.

The fundamental question for Miami here is whether Durant makes them good enough to essentially mortgage their future. This would be it. Between these picks and the one owed to Charlotte, the Heat would be out of the star-trading game for the foreseeable future beyond dealing young players they already have or surprisingly develop (which, given their history, actually isn’t that surprising anymore).

So, is Durant worth it? The answer is yes, at least if Ware continues to grow as the team hopes. That might not be the case if Boston was still at full power, but, with apologies to the Indiana Pacers, the Eastern Conference throne is vacant right now. There is no obvious juggernaut holding it. A team built around Herro, Durant and Adebayo would have a real chance to seize it. That chance would rise significantly if Ware takes a major step or if the shooting Davion Mitchell showed with the Heat last season persists. Miami always develops depth.

If the Heat were in a position to trade for someone younger, they probably would have done it by now. Their asset pool is fairly limited. They just traded Jimmy Butler for a pretty limited package. This could be Miami’s last real chance to get into the Finals conversation for the foreseeable future — and we’d assume that’s something the 80-year-old Pat Riley has on his mind. As risky as Durant is, the Heat don’t have a better option available to them.

Suns get: Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, Jaden Ivey, No. 37 pick, 2026 first-round pick

Pistons get: Kevin Durant

This one ties back to the vacuum at the top of the Eastern Conference ahead of Jayson Tatum’s one-year absence. If the Celtics were still the Celtics, it may not make sense for Detroit to hit the accelerator like this. But Cade Cunningham, Kevin Durant and an elite defense is good enough to make the Finals, and a second shot-maker is the single thing the Pistons need most at this stage in their build. Cunningham was the only Detroit player to average even 16 points per game in the first round against the Knicks.

The cost is simultaneously steep is and reasonable. Moving off of Ivey now hurts. Before his season-ending injury, he was having a breakout year. His ability to get to the rim was never in question, but his jumper was coming along nicely. But it feels notable, even if it wasn’t his fault, that the Pistons took off after he was gone. He’s now extension-eligible and will want a hefty deal. The Pistons can afford to give it to him, but if they fear he overlaps too much with Cunningham, now would be the team to cash in their stock. Stewart fits nicely in Phoenix as a tough, defensive big man that rebounds and, until this season anyway, could even shoot some 3s. Both fit well with Booker and are young enough to win with him for years to come.

But the important asset point from Detroit’s perspective here is that its future picks would not be encumbered. The Pistons would give up their 2026 pick, yes, but would have all of their future picks available to trade later, when they will have a better idea of what they actually need around Cunningham to win. They’d still have Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren. The core would be intact. The picks would be available.

In a way, that makes this trade somewhat akin to the one Indiana made for Pascal Siakam, albeit at a higher price point. It was a bet that their young star point guard was ready to compete right away, but it was structured in such a way it wouldn’t prevent the Pacers from making their next trade later. After next season, Indiana is pick-neutral again and can make another star trade if it wants to. That would be the idea for Detroit: get Durant now, try to win with him for a year or two, and then use your draft picks to pivot into whatever comes next. Siakam obviously came with a longer runway, but he’s six years older than Tyrese Haliburton, so their timelines obviously weren’t perfectly aligned.

It might be the Pistons. It might be the Magic. It might be the Heat. It might be someone we’re not seeing. But someone in the middle of the Eastern Conference is going to try to take advantage of the uncertainty at the top of the standings. Even by Eastern Conference standards, chances like this are pretty rare.

New York Knicks

Suns get: Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, Pacôme Dadiet

Knicks get: Kevin Durant, Nick Richards

Nets get: Vasilije Micić, No. 50 pick, No. 52 pick

I’ve covered the concept of a Karl-Anthony Towns-for-Durant trade in more depth here, and in truth, that is probably the only version of the deal that makes much sense for New York. However, reporting has shot down those rumors, so for now, we’re going to cover the other, Towns-less possibility here. OG Anunoby has to be untouchable. New York’s defense is not viable without him. So matching salary becomes difficult. The Knicks have to stack three important role players just to match salary.

The Knicks would move forward with a four-man core of Anunoby, Towns, Jalen Brunson and Durant. That would be as talented a quartet as exists in the NBA today. The depth beyond them, though, would be a big question mark. Richards steps in as a useful backup center, but he can’t take on nearly the role that Robinson held. Deuce McBride probably claims the fifth starting slot and serves as New York’s primary guard defender. They’d be hard-capped at the second apron in this scenario, giving them around $12 million in spending power with just eight players on the team. Things would get tight from there, likely limiting them to minimum salaries and rookies moving forward. Nail those additions and the Knicks could contend. Get any wrong? Or have any significant injuries or age-related declines? Things fall apart fairly quickly.

When Phoenix pursued Durant in 2023, then-general manager James Jones reportedly wanted to hold the line on the inclusion of Bridges. Mat Ishbia, almost as soon as he took over, directed him to offer Bridges and get the deal done. A lot of the Suns’ problems today flowed out of that decision, so it would feel fitting for Phoenix’s Durant odyssey to end with Bridges returning to the team that drafted him. He isn’t quite the same player he was when he left — his defense has slipped markedly, for example — but this deal would replenish Phoenix’s wing rotation and get them a starting-caliber center that does all of the things they need a center to do. It includes no draft capital, but probably more immediate player value than any other deal.

Once again, the Nets step in as our cap facilitator here. They take on the Micić deal and pick up two second-round picks for their troubles.

Kevin Durant watch is officially on, folks. As the Phoenix Suns continue their desperate pursuit to land Jimmy Butler ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, it has become abundantly clear that there is no taker out there for Bradley Beal’s supermax contract. That means that the Suns will either need to move Durant’s salary to fit in Butler, or they will have to consider moving Durant for assets that they could later use to retool the roster around the younger Devin Booker down the line.

Durant’s former team, the Golden State Warriors, has reportedly been in hot pursuit. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, both the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are also in the mix. Other teams are surely interested here as well.

So, what would the Suns want in a Durant deal? In all likelihood, balance. They’re still trying to win now, but that doesn’t have to mean right now with the 36-year-old Durant headed out the door. They’d likely prefer to add some defense to balance out the scoring from Booker and Beal. Wings and centers are their positional preferences. Picks are valuable here, but primarily as assets they can use to flip down the line. If they can get off of Jusuf Nurkic, then all the better.

So with all of that in mind, let’s mock out some possible Durant trades. If the 2014 MVP is indeed traded this week, this is what a deal could look like.

The first team known to have registered interest in Durant is, unsurprisingly, his former employer: the Golden State Warriors. They badly need another scorer to pair with Stephen Curry. Durant obviously fits the bill. Rarely does a team get a chance to reunite with someone that helped them win two championships. Such an opportunity exists for the Warriors. It’s just going to be costly.

Phoenix turns one star into three useful players here. Wiggins can immediately slide in as the sort of versatile wing they’ve lacked. Valanciunas is at least a usable center in small doses. The Suns reportedly have some level of interest in Kuminga. He’s the upside play for them here. Perhaps outside of Steve Kerr’s untraditional, egalitarian system, he can succeed playing a more typical brand of basketball. Think of how much better Kelly Oubre Jr. looked in Phoenix than he did with the Warriors. That’s the model here, except Kuminga is significantly more talented.

In addition to the players, Phoenix gets two unprotected Warriors picks. Add those two picks to three they got from the Jazz and suddenly Phoenix has five first-rounders to play with in order to improve. Attaching some of them to Nurkic in order to add more win-now talent would be entirely doable, especially over the summer when Nurkic becomes an expiring contract.

The Wizards are our financial facilitator of choice here because they already control Golden State’s 2030 first-round pick. The catch is that they only get it if it lands between No. 21 and No. 30. In exchange for eating two meaningful contracts, the protections on that pick become significantly lighter: now, the Wizards get that pick if it lands anywhere between No. 7 and No. 30. Considering how old the Warriors would be with a Curry-Durant-Draymond Green core, a top-six protected Warriors pick would be very valuable.

Golden State would be sacrificing most of its future to get this deal done, but would at least still hold onto Brandin Podziemski and its picks in odd-numbered years. It’s a gamble, but, well, at least there’s proof of concept. Durant, Curry and Green have won together in the past. They can win together in the future.

Golden State Warriors (featuring Jimmy Butler)

Suns receive: Jimmy Butler, Lindy Waters, 2026 first-round pick (via Warriors), 2028 first-round pick (via Warriors), 2030 first-round pick (via Warriors, protected 1-6 and 21-30).

Jimmy Butler, Lindy Waters, 2026 first-round pick (via Warriors), 2028 first-round pick (via Warriors), 2030 first-round pick (via Warriors, protected 1-6 and 21-30). Warriors receive: Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant Heat receive: Julius Randle, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney

Julius Randle, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney Timberwolves receive: Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins Pistons receive: Buddy Hield

Well, well, well, looks like the Suns still might have a path to Jimmy Butler after all. Yes, I know, I said we were trying to balance out the roster. Hear me out: Kevin Durant is better than Jimmy Butler, but if Butler is still the star the Suns think he is, they could use the surplus value generated in making that swap to get picks that they could turn around and trade for size and defense. In this scenario, they get the same two picks from the Warriors they did in the last trade, plus the portion of that 2030 pick we just gave the Wizards. They would then presumably try to attach those picks to Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen or other pricey role players on their roster for upgrades elsewhere.

Where do the three other teams factor into this? The Pistons act as our financier here, but they don’t need to be paid to cooperate because they could actually use Buddy Hield. They’ve been a tad short on scoring since Jaden Ivey got hurt, so they simply take on an elite shooter for free and leave it at that.

Miami gets Kuminga as the centerpiece of its Butler return. He is a restricted free agent this offseason, so re-signing him would cut into their 2026 cap space plans, but in Randle and Looney, they get two contracts that will expire before then. They have reportedly been interested in Randle in the past, and he could give their offense the boost it needs to reach the playoffs this season. That means quite a bit to Miami, as missing the playoffs this year would mean that they will owe unprotected first-round picks to the Thunder in 2026 and Hornets in 2028 due to previous trades.

As for Minnesota? Aside from getting out of the failed Randle experiment, they save a ton of money off of their luxury tax bill by taking Wiggins instead. He does have an extra year on his contract, but he’s a far better fit for a Minnesota roster that needs an extra wing far more than it needs an inefficient, ball-handling power forward. I’ve explored the Wiggins-Randle component of this deal in more depth here.

Dallas Mavericks

Deep breath, folks. The Mavericks are, by far, the most complicated team to construct a Durant trade for. Here’s why:

The Mavericks are hard-capped at the first apron. After Tuesday’s Caleb Martin trade, they have only around $200,000 in room beneath it.

Aside from Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, who are presumably untouchable, no Maverick makes even $16 million per year. That means they are going to have to send out several salaries to match money on Durant, and therefore save enough money below the second apron to fill out their roster afterward.

Daniel Gafford is needed in this trade for salary purposes, and Dereck Lively is needed in this trade for value purposes. Moving both leaves the Mavericks without a traditional center. That shouldn’t matter much with Davis in place, but remember, he not only campaigned the Lakers for a center, but waived his trade bonus to get to Dallas presumably in part because he knew he’d get to play power forward for them. Dallas isn’t hanging him out to try, so we need to find the Mavericks a bruiser in this deal.

Two of the biggest remaining Mavericks salaries, Caleb Martin and Max Christie, cannot be aggregated.

Essentially, this means we need to construct a legal trade in which Dallas effectively guts its supporting cast to get Durant. We need two helpers to get there, hence the inclusion of the Wizards and Pistons. Even after this deal, the Mavericks would have only 10 rostered players and would need to sign four more. The Suns would need to waive two players (likely Mason Plumlee and Bol Bol). The Wizards would need to waive one, but they’re the Wizards, they have plenty of waiveable dudes.

Now, the basketball of it all. Lively is the crown jewel of this return. He’s a second-year center that just dominated his rookie playoff run and has both All-Star and All-Defense potential. Phoenix would essentially be importing the Dallas center rotation from last season while also adding a bruising, two-way wing in Washington as well as one of the greatest shooters of all time in Thompson. Both of their inclusions make other Suns players expendable. Suddenly, it becomes far easier for Phoenix to trade Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neale if they need to with those players in place. They’re getting two good first-round picks and one good second-round pick to help them do so, which they could also use to dump Jusuf Nurkic. Ultimately, this gives the Suns far more flexibility to retool the roster around Booker and, presumably, Lively. With picks and mid-sized salaries at their disposal, they could go for almost any type of roster they want.

The Mavericks grow significantly thinner in this deal, but they’re not completely bereft of depth. New acquisitions Christie and Martin are still here. So is Valanciunas and reserve ball-handlers Jaden Hardy and Spencer Dinwiddie. That’s not exactly a loaded supporting cast… but would Dallas need one? It’s hard to imagine a more compatible trio than Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis. Every other box, be it center, two-way wing or bench playmaking, is at least partially checked here. If the cap allowed them to keep more depth they surely would, but that’s not the CBA we’re living in.

The Wizards and Pistons are our facilitators here. Washington gets second-year first-rounder Prosper to both send out Valanciunas and eat the Dwight Powell contract. Detroit is a big winner here. We need someone to take in Marshall’s money, and the Pistons, with their $14 million in cap space, qualify. Marshall is a very solid two-way wing who could join the Pistons immediately and contribute to their playoff push. To get him, they swap their very good 2025 second-rounder from Toronto for a slightly worse Phoenix pick, which belongs to Washington in reality.

Trades of this magnitude almost never happen. When they do, it’s almost never during the season. But Dallas has already shown us that the impossible is possible at the 2025 trade deadline, so sure, why not do it again with a Durant blockbuster?

The Rockets, by all accounts, want to keep their young core together for the time being. What if they could make a major trade without breaking it up? Houston is a uniquely enticing trading partner for Phoenix because the Rockets control Phoenix’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2029. If the Suns could get those picks back, several other team-building doors suddenly open. They could flip those picks again to teams that want to bet against their future. They could hold onto them and tank if they can’t build a winner in the near future. These two first-round picks are more valuable to the Suns than any picks they could get elsewhere.

In this deal, they also solve fill two important present holes. Dillon Brooks would immediately become their best 3-and-D wing. Nikola Vucevic could slide in at center. He may not be the rim-protector the Suns are looking for, but he’s a viable starter at their weakest position. Adding Brooks hopefully helps the defense enough to survive his presence on that end of the floor.

Chicago is seemingly looking for a first-round pick for Vucevic as we speak, but Whitmore is likely more valuable than any pick they could reasonably get. A high-upside scoring wing with two more years left on his rookie deal, the Rockets just haven’t had minutes available for him. Chicago obviously would.

The question for Houston here is whether or not they’re willing to sacrifice two of their best trade assets for a very brief boost in championship odds. Durant could get them to the Finals here and now. He’s also 36 with a lengthy injury history. Those picks could be the key to the Rockets landing a younger star later. What holds more value to the Rockets: the upside of landing a top-15 player ever for a short period, or the longer runway that would come with trading for someone younger down the line?

There’s no clear answer to that question, and it’s not even clear that a Durant trade would preclude another star move down the line. Houston would still have its own picks to work with. It would still control a valuable 2027 swap with the Nets as well, plus its incumbent young talent. Getting Durant would be a short-term play, but not exactly an all-in move. Considering how well he could fit their roster, or any roster for that matter, he’s probably worth the price.

Suns receive: Nic Claxton, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 2025 first-round pick (via Magic), 2027 first-round pick (via Magic), 2029 first-round pick (via Magic), 2031 first-round pick (via Magic)

Nic Claxton, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 2025 first-round pick (via Magic), 2027 first-round pick (via Magic), 2029 first-round pick (via Magic), 2031 first-round pick (via Magic) Magic receive: Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant Nets receive: Anthony Black, Mo Wagner, Gary Harris

Here’s where we get funky. Durant has played for the Warriors before. The Rockets are a fairly standard star destination. Nobody is expecting Orlando to make an all-in push yet. They by no means need to. Their three best players are all 23 or younger. But really think about where the Magic are right now. They’ve had back-to-back top-three defenses, but they haven’t had a top-20 offense in 13 years. They rank dead last in the NBA in 3-point percentage and it isn’t even close. They trail the Wizards by 2.6 percentage points. That’s bigger than the gap between the No. 29 Wizards and the 19 Nets at 35.4%.

Injuries have informed those struggles, obviously, but isn’t Durant exactly the sort of player who could solve these problems? He’s a historically great shooter and late-game creator, but he wouldn’t need to take the ball out of the hands of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner on a possession-by-possession basis like most of the guards they’ve been linked to would. He’d be purely additive, not even taking away from Orlando’s imposing size. A theoretical Magic starting lineup with Durant would feature four players who are 6-10 or taller. Their smallest starter would be the 6-5 Jalen Suggs. Good luck scoring on them! If Durant makes sense as the finishing offensive piece for a young, defense-first team in Houston, then he does for a young, defense first-team in Orlando as well.

This is about as all-in as the Magic could reasonably get without touching their core. They’d be giving up four unprotected picks, but given the incumbent youth here, none of them would figure to be especially high. Anthony Black is probably the best asset they’re sacrificing in this deal. If Phoenix wants him, it could have him, but in this scenario, they immediately flip him to the Nets for a center that makes more sense with the rest of the Suns roster. Claxton is the best defensive big man they could hope for. Caldwell-Pope has been bad this season. If the Suns could revive him, he’s a proven, championship-caliber 3-and-D role player.

This sort of deal would raise serious questions for the Magic. Could they cultivate more offense after Durant is gone without picks to trade for it? Because this is a team that plans to win for a far longer time than Durant likely has left in the NBA. Could they afford Durant long-term? Remember, Suggs and Wagner start long-term extensions next season. Banchero does a year later. Durant would have to take a pay cut after his current deal expires in 2026 to finish his career here. But he is one of the few players in the NBA that could make the Magic contenders right now. If anyone is worth an all-in push for them, it’s probably him.

We’re maintaining the same basic principles here that we used in the Magic trade. The picks Memphis has to offer probably aren’t going to be especially valuable. They’re too young and too good at developing players to send Phoenix any premium picks, so they have to make up for it with the volume of four first-rounders. On balance, these picks are probably slightly more valuable than the ones Phoenix would be getting from Orlando. The Grizzlies are a bit older. They’re a bit more volatile given Ja Morant’s history and Jaren Jackson Jr’s. injury history. But, by and large, the Grizzlies should expected to win for the foreseeable future.

This is probably the least inspiring player package of the deals we’ve covered thus far, but it still gets the Suns three good players. Health has been an issue for Marcus Smart lately, but he’s played well when he’s been on the floor for the Grizzlies. He’s not quite the Defensive Player of the Year he once was, but his ability to defend bigger wings would come in handy on a roster devoted to Booker and Beal. Clarke isn’t a traditional center, but he’s about as versatile defensively as reserve big men come. Williams was an incredibly promising 3-and-D prospect a year ago, but injuries have ruined this season for him thus far.

Detroit is once again our dumping ground. The Pistons get two decent second-rounders to take on Kennard and Konchar. Again, not exactly a bad outcome for them to add another shooter as they attempt to push for a playoff spot. If the Pistons can find a better use for their cap space, there are other teams that could be looped in to eat some money. This deal saves the Suns roughly $14 million in salary and a small fortune in luxury taxes, so worst-case scenario, they have room to take in a bit more salary.

The question here is whether or not the Grizzlies would go all-in at this juncture. Their interest in Jimmy Butler suggests they are open to trading for an older star, but he would come at a much lower asset cost. Durant is better. He’s also pricier. Giving up picks hurts the Grizzlies more than most teams. When you draft as well as they do, any lost pick is going to sting. They’re giving up four first-rounders here. Phoenix would probably ask for standout rookie Jaylen Wells in a deal. Memphis would counter by correctly pointing out that they now need him to guard top opposing wings with Smart gone.

Finances matter for Memphis here too. Jackson will get a new deal after next season. That’s part of why they’re likely hesitant to extend Butler. Would Durant take a pay cut after the 2025-26 season? It’s hard to say, but Memphis would have to go deep into the luxury tax to keep Durant, Morant, Jackson and Desmond Bane. Given their track record in the player development department, though, they might be able to handle that. Few teams are better at cultivating cheap supporting talent.

The Grizzlies aren’t the Magic or the Rockets. They’ve been through real playoff battles before. They know what to expect when the postseason arrives, and they have a better idea of how their team will react when the lights are brightest. Houston and Orlando has room to shrug and say “eh, we’ll trade for the next guy.” The time is now for Memphis. Yes, they’re relatively young, but they have three great players hitting their primes right now, and given Morant’s athleticism-based style, they don’t know how long that prime is going to last. They’re a team that should be open to an aggressive push before Thursday’s deadline, and there isn’t a better talent out there than Durant.