Kevin Durant Says He's in Regular Contact with Suns Execs, Players amid Trade Rumors

Kevin Durant is pushing back against recent reporting that he isn't satisfied with the Phoenix Suns and could eventually look to leave the organization.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill, Durant pushed back against the "lies" that Phoenix could look to move him and said he maintains regular contact with Suns coaches, front office executives and players:

"So for somebody to say, 'Phoenix wants to get out of the KD (business),' I'm sitting here like, where is this coming from? It bothers me that people lie like that and that the audience eats up the headline. I get sad when people buy into lies and just make up s--t. It's bigger than ball at that point for me. I can't control that. I feel for people. It's a bad practice to have when you just believe anything, for one. Just believe what you see on TV. And then it's another bad habit when you're just lying."

Durant's specific mention of the Suns wanting "to get out of of the KD" business was likely referring to a comment by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

On the June 26 episode of First Take (starts at 10:00 mark), Smith said to ignore what the Suns are saying publicly because they "want out of Kevin Durant right now."

Rumblings about Durant's future in Phoenix picked up steam after the Houston Rockets acquired the rights to at least two Suns draft picks in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported when the deal was agreed upon that Houston was positioning itself to make it "easier" to acquire Durant, even though the Suns have said they are keeping the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

Suns general manager James Jones told reporters after the first round of the NBA draft on June 26 that Durant wasn't going to be traded.

"It's the stuff that gets clicks and that everyone wants to talk about, but I think I said it specifically back on May 19th when I was asked are we trading Kevin Durant. I said no then, I'll say no now. I'll continue to get asked," Jones said.

There is going to be a lot of pressure on the Suns to succeed this year because of how much money the roster is going to cost. They are currently set to pay $382.2 million in 2024-25 between payroll and luxury tax, nearly $120 million more than any other team in the NBA.

The trio of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal didn't put the Suns among the top teams in the Western Conference last season. They finished sixth and were swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Phoenix brought in Mike Budenholzer as its new head coach to solve some of the issues that came up under Frank Vogel. Budenholzer could prioritize more ball movement and a faster pace to boost an offense that finished ninth in rating last season, despite having two of the best scorers in the league with Booker and Durant.

If the Suns struggle once again, it wouldn't be a surprise if they at least explored the market for Durant around the trade deadline or next offseason. He is under contract for two more seasons with salaries of $51.2 million in 2024-25 and $54.7 million in 2025-26.

Durant will almost certainly be a great player no matter what team he suits up for next season. He averaged 27.1 points on 52.3 percent shooting, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in 75 starts during the 2023-24 campaign.