Suns must avoid franchise-altering mistake if they stumble early
Mat Ishbia better not be even thinking about it.
Perhaps the only negative of having Kevin Durant on your team is the constant noise surrounding him. His name is frequently brought up in trade rumors, while his happiness in a given situation is always a topic of debate.
That might be a bit unfair to a player that’s only requested one trade, but his bristly nature and tendency to ignore rumors gives a lot of room to media personalities and fans who use his name to generate clicks. Durant has played for the Phoenix Suns for a little over a year, but the team has already experienced the full force of that phenomenon, especially earlier this summer.
Although those talks have cooled for the time being, they’re bound to start up again if the Suns get off to a slow start or when the trade deadline approaches.
Part of the reason why the Suns are being subjected to these rumors is because the idea of trading KD isn’t without merit. The Suns were swept in the first round and the approaching cap penalties of the new CBA means an expensive roster isn’t tenable long term.
KD isn’t the face of the franchise like Devin Booker is, nor does he have a no-trade clause like Bradley Beal. That makes him the most likely star to be traded if the Suns want to make a big change.
