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Kevin Durant has officially confirmed what had been rumored for months: the Suns nearly sent him back to the Warriors before he pulled the plug.
“Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns,” Durant said speaking at Game Plan Sports’ Business Summit recently. “And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that’s just the name of the game. So I got over that quickly and was trying to figure out what the next steps were.”
Reports at the time indicated a multi-team deal was in place that could have sent Jimmy Butler to Phoenix and Durant to Golden State.
Durant acknowledged there were indeed talks going on, but he had a say in stopping them.
“I heard Golden State was in the mix around the trade deadline, but that’s when Rich [Kleiman] came into play, and those relationships that we built around the league and also playing in Golden State helped,” Durant explained. “We were able to tell them to kind of hold off on that.”
The former MVP said timing was a major factor in his decision.
“Since me being on the market in February when there’s also a trade deadline, people were just kind of seeing how their seasons played out and what they needed for their teams,” Durant said. “We knew we would revisit that right around the summertime, and Houston kind of jumped on, and it happened pretty fast from there.”
Phoenix, meanwhile, failed to reach the postseason and never won a playoff game with its trio of Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.
Durant’s trade to Houston brought back Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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