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West Contender ‘Unlikely’ To Pursue Kevin Durant Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Apr 17, 2025 9:49 PM ET

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Phoenix Suns are expected to work with Kevin Durant on a trade this summer. The two-time Finals MVP was almost traded to the Golden State Warriors in February before the Warriors found out Durant didn't want to return to Golden State.

Several teams are expected to pursue Durant, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. The future Hall of Famer averaged 26.6 points this season while shooting 43.0% from beyond the arc. He turns 37 in the fall and has one year left on his contract.

Durant has been linked to the Houston Rockets since Rockets head coach Ime Udoka worked with Durant when the two were on the Brooklyn Nets in 2020-21. Houston has young players and draft picks that it can trade to Phoenix for Durant.

However, according to NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, the Rockets pursuing Durant is "unlikely."

With the 52-win Rockets soon to open a playoff series against Golden State, sources tell @JakeLFischer and me a Houston pursuit of Durant is even "less likely" than previously thought.

Phoenix today acknowledged KD could be dealt this offseason.

More: https://t.co/jkBEbr3Onp https://t.co/aApSwk4DDP pic.twitter.com/5yWZvsCVIz
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 18, 2025

The Rockets won 52 games this season. They are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and will face the Warriors in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.

Houston's roster is headlined by Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr.

VanVleet (30) is the oldest player out of that group.

Durant has career averages of 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns. He won titles in 2017 and 2018 with the Warriors.

It will be fascinating to see where Durant is playing next season. The 15-time All-Star was interested in getting traded to the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat in February, so it has yet to be seen if those teams will pursue KD this summer.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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