A 3-Team Trade to Land Kevin Durant with the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors didn't even make the playoffs this season. The Phoenix Suns were swept in the first round.
Both star-laden rosters could easily justify pretty dramatic shakeups (even if Suns owner Mat Ishbia thinks his team is in a "great" position).
And today, we're going to offer them one.
During the season, Jonathan Kuminga found himself in plenty of trade rumors. And this offseason, there's already been plenty of speculation about a potential reunion between Kevin Durant and the Warriors.
Here, we'll take those hypotheticals to their logical ends, while also looping in the Orlando Magic to facilitate the move (and make life a little easier for their up-and-coming star forwards).
The Trade
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As we always do with these three- and four-team megadeals, we'll set the stage before explaining why each team should say yes.
It helps to see the entire framework in one glance.
Suns Receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Kevon Looney, Caleb Houstan, a 2025 first-round pick from Orlando (via Denver), a 2026 first-round pick from Golden State, a 2028 first-round pick from Golden State
Suns Lose: Kevin Durant and a 2028 second-round pick (via Boston)
Magic Receive: Chris Paul, Gary Payton II and a 2028 second-round pick (via Boston)
Magic Lose: Jett Howard, Caleb Houstan and a 2025 first-round pick (via Denver)
Warriors Receive: Kevin Durant and Jett Howard
Warriors Lose: Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick
Feel free to quibble over some of the picks or smaller contracts here. The point, as always, is the foundational pieces involved. And below, you'll find out why the foundation works for everyone.
Suns Reboot
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Suns Receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Kevon Looney, Caleb Houstan, a 2025 first-round pick from Orlando (via Denver), a 2026 first-round pick from Golden State, a 2028 first-round pick from Golden State
Suns Lose: Kevin Durant and a 2028 second-round pick (via Boston)
Phoenix just hired Mike Budenholzer. It'll almost certainly give him a chance to try to make the supposed "big three" of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal work.
But regardless of what Ishbia says about the state of the organization, it was nowhere near contention this season. And in terms of future assets (or lack thereof) and the distance the Suns traveled past the dreaded second apron, they might be in the worst position in the league from a team-building perspective.
This deal gets Phoenix part of the way out of that quagmire, by saving it tens of millions of dollars, boosting its depth, getting them some young talent and restocking an almost totally bare cabinet of future draft picks.
Of course, the Suns would almost certainly be taking a step back on the court, but continued development from Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski would probably keep them in the hunt for a play-in spot. Kevon Looney would be an upgrade (both in terms of versatility and experience) over Drew Eubanks as a backup 5. And Caleb Houstan is an interesting flyer for a team in need of some youth.
It may be impossible to sell all of that to Ishbia (or Budenholzer), but the writing is on the wall. Phoenix is old. The West is loaded with younger, deeper teams (the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks to name a few). And it doesn't have many avenues for change outside of a Durant or Booker trade.
Magic Land a Stopgap Playmaker
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Magic Receive: Chris Paul, Gary Payton II and a 2028 second-round pick (via Boston)
Magic Lose: Jett Howard, Caleb Houstan and a 2025 first-round pick (via Denver)
Of course, to take on Durant's $50-plus million salary, Golden State would likely have to send out big money like Chris Paul's or Andrew Wiggins'.
The latter might make some sense for Phoenix, just because the annual salary is more manageable than Durant's, but he doesn't offer the upside of the package already detailed. The former was just jettisoned from the Suns prior to the 2023-24 season, and he obviously doesn't help on the "they're old" front.
So, we'll loop in a third squad to take on some 2024-25 money, and the Magic are in a unique position to do just that.
They might have loftier goals for their cap space (like Donovan Mitchell), but if those don't come to fruition, CP3, even at 39, isn't a bad fallback.
Orlando's young talent is intriguing, but Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner often looked overtaxed on offense. Having Paul, on the last year of his contract, creating a few more easy looks for both would go a long way with their scoring efficiency. And at this point in his career, he won't take enough ball-handling opportunities away from the forwards to hamper their development.
Losing two young, unproven talents isn't ideal, but Paul's playmaking and experience is worth it. Plus, the addition of Gary Payton II to the framework could make an already strong defense even more imposing.
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Warriors Take One Last Dance
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Warriors Receive: Kevin Durant and Jett Howard
Warriors Lose: Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick
This may be the toughest sell of the exercise. Durant turns 36 in September. Giving up five rotation players (two of whom still have plenty of developmental runway) and multiple picks to reopen the window for title contention for maybe a year is a massive risk.
But Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are 36, 34 and 34, respectively. The window wasn't going to be open long anyway. And with the built-in familiarity between those three and Durant, there's a shot for real contention as early as this coming season.
Durant may be a half step slower than he was during the back-to-back years in which he won Finals MVP for the Warriors, but he still averaged 27.1 points and 5.0 assists, while shooting 41.3 percent from deep this season. Perhaps more importantly, he played in 75 games (his most in a single campaign since 2018-19, when he was with Golden State).
Even the slightly older version of this core would instantly be a nightmare to defend. And though this deal hammers the team's depth, they'd be an attractive destination for ring-chasing veterans who might be willing to sign for less than they're worth.
Some combination of Wiggins, Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis would at least be the start of a potentially solid rotation behind the four stars.
Again, this would be a big risk. But the final years of Curry's prime justifies risks.
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