After the trade that sent Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on February 6, his All-Star teammate Kevin Durant was sent to the Phoenix Suns in a late-night deal where the Nets would acquire forwards Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder, guard Cam Johnson, and four future unprotected first-round picks. The Suns also received forward T.J. Warren in the trade along with Durant.
The deal kicked off the trade deadline, delivering the first shock of NBA news to the world. Many wondered if Kevin Durant would express unhappiness in Brooklyn after Kyrie Irving left. The Nets seemed poised to pull the trigger and blow the team up, with the realization their "big three" going into the 2021-22 season with Irving, Durant, and guard James Harden had all left or had previously requested a trade. In fact, Durant, Harden, and Irving only played a total of 16 games together.
The Nets had previously traded a large amount of first-round picks to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets in January 2021. The Suns giving them four future first-round picks has for sure saved their future and allowed them to erase past mistakes. ESPN states, "Brooklyn has made itself whole again by acquiring picks in trades that offloaded Durant, Irving and Harden: seven tradable first-rounders over the next seven years."
The Brooklyn Nets currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 34-22 record. In the last three games, guard Cam Thomas, who emerged in increased minutes following the trade of Kyrie Irving, has scored 40 points or more, "becoming the youngest player in NBA history with three consecutive 40-point games", at age 21. Despite concerns about how they will succeed in the future without a true "star" unless you count Ben Simmons, the Nets still look to become a solid team and make a push in the playoffs. Bridges is one of the best defensive players in the league and has proven he can be a contributor in scoring. This is considered the biggest downside for the Suns, getting rid of a very valuable role player, arguably one of the best in the league. With a group of reliable younger players, such as Thomas, Bridges, Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson, and Dorian Finney-Smith, as well as excellent three-point shooting veterans like Joe Harris and Seth Curry, the Nets find themselves in a strange spot, but it's still an option for them to be successful.
As for the Suns, they were still able to retain their big three of Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton. Adding Kevin Durant makes them easily one of, if not the best, offensive team in the league. NBA fans are quick to forget the Phoenix Suns had the best record in the league last season and had made the NBA Finals in 2021. They would lose the NBA Finals against Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks, and Sam Quinn of CBS Sports states, "Durant has outplayed Antetokounmpo in a playoff series. He's won championships and Doncic hasn't. Sometimes, these things can be simple. When Kevin Durant is on your basketball team you have a chance to win a championship. Before this trade, the Suns probably didn't." Durant can make or break a championship team, and the Suns surely would have won in 2021 if they had Durant. There are high hopes in Phoenix.
Kevin Durant suffered a left MCL sprain on January 8, 2023, against the Miami Heat. However, Shams Charania reported on January 24, "There is optimism that Kevin Durant will return to action for Nets ahead of the All-Star break – and play in the All-Star Game." However, Kevin Durant has reportedly opted out of the All-Star game to further recover from his injury.
The Durant trade was done by new majority owner Mat Ishbia, who would take over the team on February 8, buying the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury team for $4 billion. It's clear Ishbia's quick moves already set the precedent for the culture he hopes to build in Phoenix, trying to make the final push to finally bring a championship to the 54-year-old franchise. Ishbia's main goal in the trade was to bring in Durant but retain Bridges, however, ESPN states, "that was a nonstarter for the Nets." The Suns originally wanted to push to attain young forward John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks, but "Ishbia wouldn't call it a night without making one more run at Durant." This ambition of the new owner ultimately led to the shocking trade to occur.
Kevin Durant wanted to ultimately go to Phoenix to not only pursue a championship but also to join his good friend Devin Booker. Yahoo! Sports reports that Durant "bonded with Devin Booker on Team USA during the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo" and has "praised Booker on several occasions." Yahoo! Sports also recalls that Durant praised Booker on Bill Simmons' podcast. Durant said, “I love Devin Booker, man. He love the game and he like a dog. ... He’ll, like, rough you up. He’ll get up into you. You better watch out for that boy because he is nice. He next — I’m telling you.” Durant is also a fan of Suns head coach Monty Williams, who was an associate coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder when Durant played there and also was an assistant coach on the 2016 US Olympic team, which won gold in Rio de Janeiro.
It's not stated when Durant will debut in Phoenix. At 34 years old, the superstar is still averaging 29.7 PPG, 5.4 APG, and 6.7 RPG, as well as being selected for the 2023 All-Star game, all despite his injury. Durant will switch back to his former jersey number, #35, after his tenure in Brooklyn as #7.
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