Kevin Durant Gives Ominous Response About Future With Suns Beyond This Season.
Durant didn’t ask for a trade from Phoenix, but the Suns’ front office has some decisions to make this summer.
In the midst of an underwhelming season and recent trade discussions surrounding star Kevin Durant, the Phoenix Suns may need to reevaluate the franchise’s direction during the offseason. The trio of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal was supposed to guide Phoenix to their first NBA title, but this year, they sit at 26-28 at the All-Star break, as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.
Durant acknowledged the disappointing season in an interview with ESPN, where he mentioned that the Suns’ stars expect a lot from themselves and “it just hasn’t materialized the way we want it to.” At this season’s trade deadline, which passed Feb. 6, the Golden State Warriors pursued a reunion with Durant, but he didn’t want to get traded midway through the season which kept Durant in Phoenix and led to the Warriors acquiring Jimmy Butler.
Still, there’s a cloud surrounding Durant’s future with the Suns after the team discussed trading him in the middle of an underachieving year. He has one year left on his contract following this season. If the Suns decide to pivot their direction moving forward, they could find a trade for Durant this summer.
“You got to ask the [Suns] front office about that,” Durant said in the interview with ESPN. “I mean, I never planned on leaving, getting traded, I didn’t ask for a trade from Phoenix. But obviously, when you pay so much for a team and we’re not playing up to our expectation, somebody has to go.”
He continued that he’ll bring his best each day, but we’ll have to see how the Suns’ front office feels about the team’s finish to the season. In the offseason, they have some decisions to make.
“I let the higher-ups focus on what’s next,” Durant said as he acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding his future in Phoenix.
