The Phoenix Suns have yet to begin any trade conversations involving Kevin Durant and the possibility of him remaining with the franchise to start the 25-26 season hasn’t been fully ruled out.
The Suns elevated Brian Gregory to general manager and he remains focused on hiring their next head coach.
Durant and the Suns may be forced to wait until there’s a resolution to whether Giannis Antetokounmpo is traded or remains with the Milwaukee Bucks for his own trade market to materialize. Some of the teams who are interested in trading for Antetokounmpo could also be interested in Durant, plus third-team facilitators may prefer being included on what would be a bigger trade of Antetokounmpo.
The Suns explored the trade market for Durant at the trade deadline with the Golden State Warriors coming closer to a deal before he expressed a preference not to be dealt back to his former team. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are amongst the teams who have been linked with Durant.
The lack of a clear direction for the Philadelphia 76ers with the third overall pick could lead them to the center of league-wide trade discussions. Ace Bailey and V.J. Edgecombe are considered the two most highly rated prospects under consideration at No. 3 after Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper come of the board at No. 1 and No. 2.
While the Sixers could listen to trade offers for the No. 3 pick, they are not expected to trade out of the draft altogether. Sources tell Jake Fischer that the Sixers are keen to add a young player to its core as they already have Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain as early career players alongside veterans Joel Embiid and Paul George. The Sixers could trade down and target another option such as Tre Johnson.
McCain gave the Sixers a productive player on a rookie-scale contract last season before he suffered a season-ending meniscus injury and the value of those types has never been higher than in the current apron environment.
