Why Knicks, Wolves Reportedly Backed Off Kevin Durant Trade amid NBA Rumors

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves were both interested in Kevin Durant on June 11, although the Phoenix Suns ultimately agreed to trade the star forward to the Houston Rockets.

ESPN Radio's Alan Hahn revealed the reason why the Knicks stopped their pursuit of Durant on Monday.

"It was going to blow up the roster," Hahn reported on ESPN's Get Up. "It was one of those moves that it was going to cost you too many pieces to blow up a roster that you already did. You gave up two-for-one for [Karl-Anthony Towns] a year ago, you weren't going to do it again. They wanted some continuity, but I'll tell you what, there was a lot of interest. There certainly was interest."

ESPN's Brian Windhorst also explained why Minnesota didn't end up landing Durant.

"Kevin Durant was able to use his agency with one year left on his contract. In the winter, the Warriors were ready to bring him back," Windhorst reported on Get Up. "They were on the verge of an agreement and Durant found out about it and said, 'No' and the Warriors backed off. Again, here, Minnesota was putting together a package. I'm not sure how close they were, but they were moving down the path to acquire Kevin Durant a week or so ago. Durant made it clear, 'I don't want to go there.' They backed off."

In exchange for Durant, the Suns received Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft and five second-round selections from the Rockets.

While the Knicks were initially on the list of Durant's preferred destinations, Charania reported Sunday that the Suns "primarily focused" on the Heat, Rockets and Timberwolves "this week."

On June 15, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Knicks would have been included on Durant's eventual list of top landing spots "but were ultimately omitted when New York made it clear that it has decided against pursuing a trade."

As for Minnesota, Durant's reported unwillingness to join the organization appeared to cause the team to shift away from trade talks.

The 15-time All-Star has just one year and $54.7 million remaining on his current contract, giving him the opportunity to possibly depart in 2026 free agency if he was moved to a team that he didn't want to be on.

While the Knicks and Timberwolves both had interest in Durant, they paused their attempts to acquire him before he was dealt to the Rockets.