Grading proposed Kevin Durant trade between Warriors, Suns, Heat that KD rejected
Today at 09:54 PM
One of the wildest NBA trade deadlines in recent history has officially passed and stars re on the move all over the league. Luka Doncic is a Laker, Anthony Davis is a Maverick, Jimmy Butler is a Warrior and Brandon Ingram is a Raptor after an extremely chaotic week.
One star who didn’t end up moving is Kevin Durant, who opted to stay with the Phoenix Suns despite plenty of rumors that he could be headed to the Warriors. On Tuesday and Wednesday, in the final 48 hours before the deadline passed, talks between the two teams were heating up about possibly sending Durant to Golden State.
Multiple different iterations of the trade were discussed, with the Warriors reportedly sending out Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, and/or Draymond Green along with other assets in order to get Durant. When Durant got wind that the talks were going down, he quickly shut them down by saying that he was not interested in a Warriors reunion, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
In the end, Durant’s decision to call off the deal put an end to a scenario where Wiggins, Kuminga, Durant, and Jimmy Butler all would've been involved in the trade.
As part of this three-team proposal, the Heat would have received Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, and draft compensation. While the Warriors would've ended up with Durant, the Suns would have received Butler, Jonas Valanciunas, Kuminga and picks, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst.
Who would have won the trade in that scenario? Let’s take a look at how each team would have fared.
Golden State Warriors
Receive: Kevin Durant
Lose: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, two first-round picks, second-round pick
Durant is the prize of this deal, but this is a steep price to pay for a 36-year old wing who has seen his level of play fall of drastically on the defensive end of the floor. This is about as big of a risk as you can possibly take while losing two of your three best players at the moment, which may not be worth it for someone at this stage of his career.
From the Warriors’ perspective, Durant would raise the team’s ceiling in the present and probably through at least the end of next season, health permitting. That is the risk as the Warriors try to maximize what’s left of Stephen Curry’s time as an elite player. Nobody would want to see an offense led by Durant and Curry in a playoff series, and Golden State would be betting that the two of them could go nuclear over the course of four consecutive series.
Defensively, the Warriors lose one of their best players in Wiggins and an athletic piece in Kuminga who at the very least helps a small team on the boards. Schroder and Anderson are more salary filler than anything at this point, but the former Nets guard adds some shot creation off the bench. With this hypothetical deal, the Warriors are likely playing Curry and Durant around Green, Brandin Podziemski/Buddy Hield and one of their bigs or Moses Moody if they opted to go small. However, Durant hasn’t shown the defensive acumen necessary to be a small-ball five at this point like he was at times during his first Warriors stint.
Is that rotation enough to win a championship? It’s hard to see that type of ceiling, barring a scenario where Durant and Curry both go absolutely nuclear for two months, which would still be a possibility. However, is that team better than Oklahoma City? Denver? The new-look Lakers and Mavericks? And that’s before even getting to some of the juggernauts out east.
The risk is understandable here for the Warriors. Their primary objective is competing while Curry is still there, and Kuminga hasn’t shown enough to be billed as a future star at this stage, despite clearly being a solid player. However, Kuminga and a pair of first-rounders leaving town completely destroys the team’s future outlook.
As a result, this grade has to be made with some reservation despite the understandable thought process. The goal for this deal would be to win a championship, which would still be unlikely with this hypothetical version of the roster.
Grade: B-
Phoenix Suns
Receive: Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Jonas Valanciunas, two-first round picks (via GSW), two second-round picks (one via GSW, one via MIA)
Lose: Kevin Durant, 2025 first-round pick (via CLE)
The Suns get Jimmy Butler in town to complement Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, and they get out of the Durant business with a core that more than likely isn’t going anywhere significant. They also get Valanciunas from Washington, who is a fourth team in this proposed trade, to presumably replace Jusuf Nurkic.
Butler is not the same player that Durant is, but he gives the team an element of toughness that it has been lacking, to be frank. He will guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player and also gives the offense a different look that it desperately needs. Butler is not as good of a scorer as Durant, but he puts pressure on the rim in a way that Durant, Booker and Beal all do not. That could help open up this offense a little bit.
Most importantly, the Suns would get some semblance of a future back in this trade. Kuminga can be a core starter for years to come and Phoenix would be swapping a less valuable first-rounder this year (from the East-leading Cavs) for a pair of Warriors picks that would likely be much higher in the first round. Those are assets that can be used to build the rest of the roster or *gulp* take yet another swing at a star.
This is probably a lateral move at best for the Suns in the present, but it restores hope in the future for a team that may have to sell such a vision to Booker sooner rather than later.
Grade: B+
Miami Heat
Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, 2025 first-round pick (via CLE from PHX)
Lose: Jimmy Butler, second-round pick
The Heat lost all of their leverage in the Jimmy Butler saga, which I’m sure was joyless for all kinds of people outside of the disgruntled star himself. There was always going to be a diminished return for Butler, but this is about as good as you could hope for if you’re Erik Spoelstra and company.
Wiggins, who the Heat ended up getting in the eventual trade that sent Butler to Golden State anyway, is a perfect fit next to Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and the rest of the Miami core. He can spot up, attack off the dribble on the second side, and is an excellent rebounder for his position when he is locked in. He should also fit right in defensively and make this Heat squad difficult to score on.
In this hypothetical deal, getting Schroder as a secondary ball handler off the bench is a big win. Adding a first-round pick, even one that is likely to be near the end of the round, is a massive plus considering the circumstances surrounding Butler this season. A core of Adebayo, Herro and Wiggins probably isn’t ready to win a championship, but this would still have been a good roster. Spoelstra has shown that he can do more with less before, and this is the kind of team that would give him that chance while the Heat maintain some flexibility to make a bigger swing at some point in the future.
Grade: A
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