Mat Ishbia Reflects on Kevin Durant Trade, Suns Exec Reveals How Rockets Deal Almost Didn't Happen

While Kevin Durant's exit felt inevitable, the Phoenix Suns wanted to set the terms as much as they could before trading the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

In an interview with The Athletic's Sam Amick, team governor Mat Ishbia discussed the process of pivoting away from the failed superteam experiment that paired Durant and Bradley Beal with Devin Booker.

As the Houston Rockets emerged as a suitor for KD, Ishbia explained that Phoenix wanted Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, and the team wouldn't settle for less.

"Those are the two players we wanted. It wasn't, 'Hey, how do we fill a salary with these numbers?'" he said. "It was, 'In order to have Kevin Durant on your team, I want Dillon Brooks to help me with my culture and my identity. I want Jalen Green as a 23-year-old up-and-coming leading scorer. You're gonna get a Hall of Fame player.' And then we obviously negotiate draft picks involved with it as well. But Dilllon Brooks was targeted, just like Jalen Green was targeted. …The Kevin Durant trade turned out to be everything we wanted it to be — and then some."

Rumors swirled around Durant ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. The Golden State Warriors were heavily linked, only for the veteran forward to express reticence about a return to the Bay Area.

Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein told Amick the Rockets made a late push, with general manager Rafael Stone reaching out at 4 a.m. local time on deadline day to start serious conversations.

"It wasn't the right package. It wasn't as good as the package we got," Bartelstein said. "That was the really hard part for me and Mat at that time."

As a strategy, holding onto Durant wasn't without some pitfalls. Phoenix wound up finishing 36-46 and missing the playoffs, and speculation over Durant cast a cloud over the entire organization. Pretty much everyone assumed he was gone.

Maybe it was a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

Green has been limited to just seven games, but Brooks has been a tone-setter in more ways than one. He's averaging 21.2 points, and his combative nature on the court has sparked the rest of the squad.

The Suns still have a long way to go to be a serious title contender, but making the playoffs would give them a nice springboard for the future.