The Phoenix Suns had been the doormat of the Western Conference for much of the 2010s. After all the success that the franchise had in the Steve Nash era, everything fell apart for the Suns, and it wasn’t until Monty Williams arrived in 2019 that their fortunes finally changed. Under Monty, the Suns went from the worst record in the Conference in 2018-19 to narrowly missing out on the play-in game, and once they acquired Chris Paul via trade in 2020, the Suns finally returned to relevance.
With Paul and Williams, they made it to the NBA Finals in 2021 and had the best record in the league last season, although it was soured by the fact that they were shockingly eliminated by the Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals. Despite that, Kevin Durant still listed them as one of his preferred destinations when he requested a trade, something that would have been unthinkable a few years back. Nothing happened in the end, though, as KD will stay with the Nets and Williams recently spoke about the Durant links for the first time.
“At the expense of what, was my thinking”?
Suns head coach, Monty Williams, shares his thoughts on the Kevin Durant to Phoenix rumors. @TermineRadio | @JumpShot8 pic.twitter.com/7JzV3hkqPg
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 26, 2022
“I never talked to any of our guys about that. One, people don’t understand how hard trades are to pull off. When I first heard about the Kevin Durant stuff, I was kinda blown away by it, just because we’ve been so blessed here to have guys who want to come. At the same time, at the expense of what, was my thinking.”
It does speak to how far the Suns have come that a superstar like Durant was interested in playing for them. They ultimately did not have the assets to pull off a deal, however, and a team insider revealed they never made a formal offer to the Nets.
They’ll now run it back with much of the same roster that looked far and away the best in the league last season, before that stunning collapse against the Mavericks. We’ll soon find out just how much of an impact that had on the team as they look to finally win a championship for the first time in franchise history.
