NBA Trade Rumors: "Kevin Durant is Not a Sun After this year”

The Phoenix Suns are in trouble in their first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, down 0-2 heading back to the desert for Game 3. Once Kevin Durant joined forces with Devin Booker and convinced them to acquire Bradley Beal, this was supposed to be 'The Big 3' that would dominate the Western Conference. As it turns out... Not so much.

The Suns could muster no more than a 6th seed during the regular season (and just squeaked that out on the final weekend), and now appear to be possible first-round fodder for Rudy Gobert, Ant, and the T-Wolves.

The big question, according to some, is how much longer will KD want to stick around if this team shows it clearly is not a championship contender? According to Craig Carton of Fox Sports, not long at all. In fact, he figures if the Suns burn out quickly this postseason, KD is a goner.

"Kevin Durant is not a Sun after this year."

— @craigcartonlive thinks Durant could move back to the East 👀 pic.twitter.com/l3WwmOXoBc
— The Carton Show (@TheCartonShow) April 24, 2024

"I just don't trust the Phoenix Suns... I could make an argument that Kevin Durant is not a Sun after this year," Carton told his panel, who didn't seem too put off by the statement at all. That included former NBA star Tim Hardaway.

"The Suns mortgaged their entire future draft pick-wise to put this team together," continued Carton. "I would not be surprised at all if Kevin Durant is on the block to come back East and go to a franchise that is loaded with first-round draft picks. And I happen to know a team that is loaded with first-round draft picks!"

Carton was referring to none other than his hometown favorites, the New York Knicks.

"Kevin Durant is a major disappointment in Phoenix. They are going to get knocked out... They're not trading Booker, and Bradley Beal nobody wants."

Hardaway did push back on one aspect of Carton's rant, deferring the blame for the Suns' impending potential flameout from just Durant to the whole makeup of the roster in general.

"The team is a major disappointment," said Hardaway. "You don't have a team there. You gotta have a team to win a championship."

To be clear, it's a best-of-7 series, and the T-Wolves still have to win two more to snuff out the Suns, but not many who've watched the first two games would doubt that that's the way this series is going to roll. Phoenix, with their big three stars, has averaged just 94 points per game in the first two contests.

Durant is well-known for leaving three teams with unfinished business thus far in his career, bolting from the promising OKC Thunder in 2016, signing on with the Golden State Warriors then leaving them after their championship run came to an end in 2019, then begging out of Brooklyn after the Nets experiment with KD and Kyrie Irving blew up big-time a couple of years back.

Who knows, it could be another intriguing summer for the 35-year-old Durant.

Photo: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports