The Phoenix Suns will tell us everything they want us to hear relating to Kevin Durant and the “super team” general manager James Jones built.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia even doubled down on this current iteration of the Suns after they were humiliated in a four-game sweep by the Minnesota Timberwolves to open the NBA Playoffs.
“The narrative that the house is burning is incorrect,” Ishbia told reporters earlier this week, via NBA.com. “The Phoenix Suns are doing great. Excellent. Not as good as we want to be. Not as good as we’re going to do next year. And that’s what we’re going to figure out — what we’ve got to tweak, modify and adjust to win a championship next year.”
Don’t you love this media spin? Even after adding Bradley Beal to team up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the Suns did not look like top-end title contenders throughout the 2023-24 season. They finished with a 49-33 record, barely escaping the NBA Play-In Tournament in the process.
Then, came the humiliating four-game sweep at the hands of Minnesota. These Suns lost those four outings by a combined 60 points. Talk about an inability to be competitive.
Even prior to the Suns’ postseason struggles, reports surfaced that KD was not happy about the direction of the organization. It came roughly a calendar year after the two-time NBA Finals MVP forced his way from the Brookyn Nets to the desert.
We’re now hearing even more on Durant’s future and whether he’ll be with the Suns next season. Specifically, Golden State Warriors insider Monte Poole suggesting that a return to Northern California could be in the cards this summer.
“Any moves the Warriors make this summer will be out of extreme urgency to maximize the Curry window. In short, adding a plug-and-play star. Durant and Curry will reunite in July as members of Team USA. [Steve] Kerr is the head coach. Assuming no movement in the interim, they will have almost six weeks to engage in conversation and reminiscence.
[Warriors owner Joe] Lacob, who already committed to retiring Durant’s number, might be willing to personally lay the red carpet for KD’s return. A KD-Warriors reunion is not as far-fetched as it might seem,” he continued, “It’s more conceivable than consummating a deal with LeBron James, something the Warriors pondered in February.”
Report on Kevin Durant reuiniting with the Golden State Warriors
There are certainly a lot of layers to this possibility. Durant’s three-year run with the Warriors included back-to-back championships. It also culminated following the 2018-19 season after KD suffered an Achilles injury and amid a spat with Draymond Green.
Would Durant once again take a back seat to Stephen Curry in the Bay Area? Is this a potential fit? What about Green’s involvement in the decision-making process? Here, we look at three reasons why a reunion makes sense.
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Kevin Durant stopped caring about his legacy eons ago
KD might very well push back against this narrative. But he stopped caring about his legacy when the future Hall of Famer departed the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 73-win Golden State Warriors squad that had defeated him in the Western Conference Finals back in 2016.
Durant’s legacy as a “super team” builder continued when he joined forces with Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2019-20 season. While that didn’t pan out, it was Durant’s way of sticking his middle finger up at the skeptics. Once Durant forced his way to Phoenix during the 2022-23 season, that was all she wrote on this end.
It’s also not like Durant would be joining the 2016-17 iteration of the Warriors. They have missed out on the playoffs three of the past five years. Klay Thompson’s future is in question. Draymond Green might not be back. Stephen Curry is not getting any younger. This is not anywhere near the same situation.
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The best version of Kevin Durant was as a member of the Golden State Warriors
Yes, the best version of Kevin Durant was his three-year run with the Warriors. He might not have led the league in scoring or put up absolutely huge numbers. But the dude was a perfect fit working off Stephen Curry. They were in lock-step before injuries derailed a three-peat possibility in 2018-19.
Durant averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 52% shooting when teaming up with Curry in Golden State. The Warriors posted a combined 182-64 record during this span. Who wouldn’t want to duplicate that?
Durant also has mad respect for what Curry brings to the table. That was magnified after the future Hall of Fame guard beat Durant’s Suns back in February.
“All-time great,” Durant said. “The greatest ever at his position. Top-five ever. If you give him a look like that for the game, he’s licking his chops.”
With Durant and Curry set to play under Steve Kerr for the United States basketball team in the 2024 Summer Olympics, there is a real chance for them to rekindle this magic. It would be a way for every party to realize the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
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No Draymond Green, no problem
No, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant wouldn’t be able to coexist together. That ugly situation between these two larger-than-life personalities back in 2018-19 was the final nail in the coffin.
The good news? They wouldn’t have to. There are continuing questions about Green’s future in San Francisco after he was suspended multiple times for egregious on-court acts this past season.
The Warriors have potential replacements in that of youngsters Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga. In short, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Co. could opt to trade Green should Durant make the decision to return to Golden State.
How a Kevin Durant trade to the Golden State Warriors would look
- Warriors get: Kevin Durant, Grayson Allen
- Suns get: Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, 1st-round pick