Let the speculation surrounding Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns continue.
Although the Suns and Durant alike have said all the right things to quell the belief that he may ask out in the coming months, that hasn’t actually stopped speculation.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report believes that Durant will be one of the next five star-level players to ask for a trade, going into great detail as to why below.
“The Suns are as all-in as a club can be. They’ve relinquished control of their next six drafts and laughed in the face of the punishingly restrictive second apron with their historic payroll.
“What has all this big-spending and free-wheeling gotten Phoenix so far? A 49-win season followed by a first-round exit followed by trade speculation around Kevin Durant.
“That is less than ideal, even with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reporting on Get Up that “Durant, to my knowledge, has not asked for a trade.” It doesn’t take the most imaginative mind to think that request could still be coming.
“Sure, the Suns had some injury issues this past season, but that’s been a red-flagged concern since they first brought Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal together. Unless Durant is a glass-overflowing kind of optimist, he could easily be worried about more injury obstacles down the road.
“Even this core is healthy, though, it might not be good enough to escape the perpetually improving Western Conference, let alone have enough left to knock out whoever escapes the East. Phoenix’s roster is top-heavy, defensively limited and lacking versatility on the interior. The Suns seem good-to-really-good, which is a problem when the West may well demand greatness.
“There really aren’t avenues to materially change this club, so if the plan is simply to play better and stay healthier, plenty of folks could have doubts about that actually working—Durant and his wandering eye included.”Buckley on Durant
It’s understandable why speculation is still running rampant in the media world.
There’s certainly still a perception that Durant isn’t loyal, along with the fact that headlines run dry around this time of year in the NBA.
It’s also still unfair to Durant, who let it be known that he gets tired of the constant rumors and unsubstantiated speculation.
It feels like truly grasping at straws at this stage. Durant has only requested a trade once in his entire career – and that was in a wholly toxic situation in Brooklyn.
Phoenix’s strong organizational culture, a more intimate appreciation from fans in the city, and playing with Devin Booker are all clearly huge factors to any prospective target by the franchise. It’s difficult to imagine Durant is any different here.
While the future can’t be predicted, it is quite fair to assume that Durant and the Suns will remain a union for at least the next year.
As for Durant’s next steps – he is expected to be back from a mild calf strain for the beginning of official Olympic group play – which is set to commence on July 28.