Top Trade Destinations for Suns' Kevin Durant Following Epic Collapse

The Phoenix Suns have officially missed the NBA playoffs in 2025. Despite having star players Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal on the roster, the team could not finish in the top 10 of the Western Conference.

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They are sitting at a 35-45 record currently, three games out of the 10th-seeded Dallas Mavericks. While there would have always been a chance to make some noise in the playoffs through the play-in tournament, the Suns essentially weren't even close to competing for an NBA championship.

Despite being 36 years old, Kevin Durant at least showed he still has it, leading the team in scoring with 26.6 points per game. He has also averaged 36.5 minutes per game, second behind only Devin Booker, showcasing potentially why the team struggled to compete in the Western Conference.

With the team in need of change given the roster's older age and large money tied up in a few players, Durant seems like the first guy that would make sense for the team to trade.

However, the more interesting discussion is what teams would make the most sense for Durant to be traded to.

Any team looking to acquire Durant would have to be a top team would potential trade assets and picks. The team would need to feel they are a big veteran piece like Durant away from a championship, because otherwise, trading for a 36-year-old player making over $50 million next season wouldn't make much sense.

Here are three teams that are most likely to trade for Kevin Durant.

Houston Rockets

As a young team with the second-best record in the Western Conference and some bigger salaries to match, the Rockets make a lot of sense to acquire Durant. The team has plenty of assets to make a trade happen, and is also in a prime position to take advantage of the current roster construction.

The team is clearly a great defensive team under the tutelage of Ime Udoka, but would benefit greatly from another scorer, making Durant a great fit. The real question would be what the team would have to give up to make this happen. For the Rockets' sake, hopefully, they would give up more picks rather than multiple of their intriguing young players.

Golden State Warriors

A reunion with Durant would be fun, a great way to capitalize on the end of Steph Curry's career. The team just traded for Jimmy Butler, but the team still has some young assets to give up that could be intriguing and also plenty of role players to fill out the rest of the roster surrounding their stars.

The biggest question mark would be matching Durant's massive salary. It may require them to include one of Butler or Draymond Green, which would be a tough pill to swallow. However, if the team can somehow exclude one of them, then this would be a fascinating team next season.

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Oklahoma City Thunder

Speaking of fun reunions, the Thunder certainly are in the best position to trade for Durant given all the picks and assets they have at their disposal.

The team is already the best team in the NBA this regular season, so adding Durant without gutting too much of the roster would only elevate them. This trade would only realistically happen if the Thunder flame out in the playoffs and clearly need more star power beyond Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

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