Kevin Durant parted ways with the Phoenix Suns this offseason, but he very well could have been shipped out of town before the February trade deadline. The Suns were open to parting ways with Durant back then, and the now Houston Rockets superstar spoke about that time period on CNBC’s Game Plan 2025.
“So I would say around February the Suns had pretty much let the league know that I was on the market,” Durant said.
Durant hadn’t expressed a desire to leave the Suns at that point and admitted he was upset when he found out.
“Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship,” Durant stated. “Me and the Phoenix Suns. And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that’s just the name of the game. So I got over that quickly and was trying to figure out what the next steps were.”
The team that reportedly got closest to getting a deal for Durant over the line before the deadline was the Golden State Warriors. Durant’s former team was interested in a reunion, but he wasn’t.
“I heard Golden State was in the mix around the trade deadline,” Durant said. “That’s where Rich [Kleiman] came into play, and those relationships that we built around the league, and also playing in Golden State, helped. So, he was able to tell them that. Kind of hold off on that.”
Even Stephen Curry wasn’t able to convince Durant to change his mind about a trade to the Warriors. The 15-time All-Star stated later that there were no hard feelings, and he turned down the move because he didn’t want to be traded mid-season.
That stance ensured Durant’s stint with the Suns extended just for a couple more months. The team would finish the 2024-25 season 11th in the West with a 36-46 record, failing to make even the play-in tournament. It was a disappointing end to the Durant era that had promised much but delivered little.
The Suns won just one playoff series in two and a half seasons with Durant. It was time to close the chapter, and they sent him to the Rockets in what ended up being a massive seven-team trade.
“People were kind of just seeing how their seasons played out and what they needed for their teams,” Durant stated. “And we knew we would revisit that right around the summertime. And Houston kind of jumped on, and it happened pretty fast from there.”
Durant was at odds with Suns fans by the time he left. The 36-year-old stated that the fans got what they wanted when he was traded to the Rockets. Durant also clapped back at a fan who claimed he was unsustainable for the culture.
Durant has left the Suns after averaging 26.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in his time there. While he may no longer be the kind of game-changer he was at his absolute peak, he is still a terrific go-to scorer and is exactly what the Rockets needed.
The Rockets, who were knocked out in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, are now viewed as one of the favorites to win the West next season. Can Durant lead them to glory? He is capable, but it certainly won’t be easy.
