Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant surfaced in NBA rumors this season when the team seemed to be shopping him around the league in order to facilitate a Jimmy Butler trade. Durant stayed in Phoenix past the deadline, but there’s great uncertainty about his future with the team.
The Suns have the most expensive roster in the NBA this season at $220 million and that figure will still be well over $200 million for the 2025-’26 season. With the most expensive roster in basketball, Phoenix is operating well above the second apron and that puts severe restrictions on the front office.
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Under the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, teams under the second apron can’t trade first-round picks that are seven years out and they don’t have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception. Furthermore, they can’t use cash in trades, nor can they acquire a player in a sign-and-trade or aggregate salaries in a deal. Those restrictions make it incredibly challenging to improve a roster, which complicates Phoenix’s situation with Durant this summer.
- Kevin Durant stats (ESPN): 26.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, 52.7% FG, 43% 3PT
ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst wrote that the Suns aren’t interested in trading Durant this summer. However, their financial situation could ultimately force their hand to trade the All-Star forward.
“Do the Suns want to trade Kevin Durant this summer? No, not really. But the reality is that the Suns’ pathways of getting out of the second apron—to ensure they have flexibility—all seem to lead to Durant.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the Phoenix Suns’ desire to make a Kevin Durant trade
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- Kevin Durant contract (Spotrac): $54.708 million salary in 2025-’26 season
Entering NBA games today, Phoenix wouldn’t even qualify for the Play-In Tournament. It sits multiple games back of the Dallas Mavericks for the 10th seed, thanks in part to a six-game losing streak with a 4-6 record over the last 10 games.
Not even earning a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament would be an embarrassment for a team with a $400 million payroll that is well above the second apron. Phoenix is adamant about not trading Devin Booker and a no-trade clause makes moving Bradley Beal next to impossible.
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The Suns’ front office is also facing the choice of losing Durant for nothing in NBA free agency or signing him to a two-year, $120 million max deal coming off his age-37 season. That’s not a price Phoenix can really afford to pay, especially with the penalties for exceeding the second apron greatly impacting the Suns’ ability to improve the roster. As a result, trading Durant might be the best of Phoenix’s worst options.