The Golden State Warriors made a big push to acquire Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns ahead of the trade deadline, but Durant didn’t want the reunion to happen. Because of that, the Warriors moved on and acquired Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat, while Durant remains with the Suns for now.
Many speculated that Durant didn’t want to play with Draymond Green again after how things ended the first time with Golden State. While they won two titles together and likely would have won a third without injuries to Durant and Klay Thompson, KD and Green butted heads and had their share of drama.
Well, Durant just went on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis to talk directly to his former teammate about why he rejected the Warriors’ advances this time around. KD noted he didn’t think the trade “made sense” at this time and elaborated on his mindset about not making such a “big change.”
“I didn’t want to move and I get why you want to trade me, simple fact that’s business but for me looking at it… we can play the season out and if that’s the decision you want to make in the offseason then we figure it out,” Durant said.
“I didn’t want to move and I get why you want to trade me, simple fact that’s business but for me looking at it… we can play the season out and if that’s the decision you want to make in the off-season then we figure it out”@KDtrey5 explains why he vetoed the Suns-Warriors… pic.twitter.com/1Gfa3uJKZN
— The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) February 26, 2025
This tracks with what Kevin Durant said recently about the trade talks, only now he’s saying it man-to-man to his former Warriors teammate. It’s an understandable sentiment even with the Suns struggling, though some fans surely don’t buy this explanation given the history between Durant and Green. KD did mention the “narratives” and the “noise” such a trade would have brought, but he downplayed that and again reiterated that he didn’t want to make such a big move in-season and wanted to “see it through” in Phoenix.
What’s next for Kevin Durant?
While the Warriors are riding high with Jimmy Butler, the Suns continue to scuffle along and look to be in serious danger of missing the play-in tournament. Phoenix suffered a heartbreaking 151-148 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, with Kevin Durant missing multiple game-tying 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
The loss dropped the Suns to 27-31, which is 2.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Perhaps Phoenix will get its act together to close the season, but this team doesn’t seem like a threat even with all the star power in place. The roster just isn’t good enough overall and the stars don’t complement each other well.
Assuming this goes as we expect for the Suns, the Durant trade rumors will heat up again in the offseason. KD admitted on the podcast he wants to end his career on “his terms” rather than committing to Phoenix, so the writing seems to be on the wall.
The Warriors likely won’t be in the mix now that they have Butler locked in, but there will surely be plenty of suitors (Timberwolves? Rockets? Heat? Others?) even for a 36-year-old KD. Even though he’s not what he once was, he can still get buckets with the best of them.
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