The Desperation Golden State Warriors Trade That Would Actually Work
The Golden State Warriors didn't need Kevin Durant when they acquired him in 2016, but they need him now.
Though recent discourse painted Steve Kerr, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry as begrudging acceptors of their middling status, that had more to do with the dearth of difference-making options on the trade market. Durant, who isn't widely viewed as available, would change that calculus.
Besides, Curry cleared up any misconceptions about the Dubs going quietly in comments to reporters last week.
Were KD to return to the crumbling Warriors via a blockbuster deadline trade, attitudes—both his own and those of the suddenly desperate Warriors—would be totally different this time.
Forget Durant being labeled a coattail-rider. He'd be billed as a savior.
The Trade
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Golden State Warriors Receive: Kevin Durant
Phoenix Suns Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick
A four-for-one deal that comes within roughly $135,000 of being illegal and requires the Suns to waive a pair of contracts in the process is pretty far-fetched. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
If Golden State is going to make something more than an underwhelming, Nikola Vučević-sized splash, it'll take an extreme and barely doable deal like this.
Golden State Secures a Potential Savior
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Bringing Durant back for a second tour would be a shortsighted, all-in move. But it would be in service of Curry, giving him the shot at contention he's owed. Successfully capturing one more ring may be unrealistic under any circumstances, but it'd be slightly more plausible with Durant back on board.
Still an All-NBA superstar who'd address the Dubs' crippling lack of offensive punch, KD is a level above the Jimmy Butlers, Zach LaVines and Brandon Ingrams of the world. Those guys aren't worth risking the future to acquire, but Durant might be.
Is chasing a championship with a roster this old any more of a long shot than trying to accumulate the athleticism and youth necessary to match the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and all the rest of the rising powers in the West?
Golden State can't catch that group by conventional, measured means. It has no chance to draft and develop a roster that good until long after Curry is gone. Better to reprise something familiar that once worked to great effect—even if this edition is over a half-decade older than it was last time around.
Neither Durant nor the Warriors are what they used to be, but that's what makes the narrative element in all this so exciting. Who wouldn't want to watch this group put their differences behind them and suit up for one last fight with grizzled, seasoned versions of players who once dominated?
Everybody loves a last-stand narrative.
Phoenix Faces Reality
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You can't propose a made-up deal like this without acknowledging that the real-life Suns are not behaving like sellers. They just sent out Josh Okogie and second-rounders for former Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards, a rotation-boosting move made by a team still clearly trying to win now.
A Durant trade won't happen unless he asks for one, which...can we really pretend that's off the table? The first paragraph in KD's career retrospective will be about his generationally elite scoring, but the second will probably chronicle his itinerant career and multiple trade requests. Count on Durant's continued satisfaction in Phoenix at your own risk.
If Durant sours on the Suns, it'll be because he sees their plight clearly.
Phoenix is staring down one of the bleakest futures in the league. Capped out, bereft of picks, wildly inflexible and barely hanging around the Play-In mix, the Suns are a sinking ship.
Durant might actually be doing Phoenix a favor by agitating to leave. This return package from Golden State features a potential star in Kuminga who'd come with the cost control of restricted free agency this summer, $17.1 million in expiring salary between Payton and Looney, a starting-caliber three-and-D wing in Wiggins and two first-rounders.
Those assets don't remove Bradley Beal's albatross contract from the books, but they give Phoenix a chance to retool and add depth around Devin Booker. If Durant decides he's done with the Suns (which, again, would have to happen for this deal to even be a consideration), this package would create the hope for the future that Phoenix currently lacks.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Accurate through Jan. 19. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
