The Trade Market For Kevin Durant Is Starting To Take Shape, Including Several "Wild Card Suitors"

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They say where there's smoke there's usually fire, and if you've been paying attention lately, you've seen a shit ton of smoke when it comes to the eventual Kevin Durant trade that we all know is happening. It's more of a "when" and "to where" type of situation than an "if". We all know he's going to find a new home for the 2025-26 NBA season, so the real question is where the hell is he going?

Shams helped solidify his market earlier today, giving us a glimpse into which teams are getting involved

Upon reading that initial list, I had one reaction

YAWN.

Mostly because we've already heard all of these teams would be interested in getting involved in the KD Sweepstakes. There were reports that both MIN and NYK were sniffing around a potential deal for KD back at the trade deadline, and both SA/HOU are two teams that have the necessary combination of young players + draft capital which are two things the Suns are going to covet since a trade like this would initiate their rebuild.

So why am I blogging about teams we already knew about? Because there's one part of Shams' report that isn't included in that tweet, but exists in the actual story

Teams that have expressed interest in Durant, sources said, mainly feature the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks. Several wild-card suitors have made inquiries on Durant in the past seven to 10 days, sources said.

Wild card suitors? Oh hell yes!

Have we evolved from "Mystery Teams" to "Wild Card suitors"? Who knows, but either way I'm IN. The way I read that is for a team to fall into the "wild card" category used by Shams, it has to be teams that we're not even thinking about or teams that on the surface you wouldn't think are interested who have actually put in calls. 

So, who could these teams be? Remember, you need some sort of combination of elite talent, picks, and ways to make the money work salary wise for a player who is making $54M. You then have to factor in if this trade could go down without an extension and how that impacts the deal. If there is an extension, does that eliminate 2nd apron teams? There are a lot of moving parts to a trade of this magnitude in this new CBA world, but if Shams is telling us there are wild card suitors putting in calls, then it's our job to try and guess who they are.

Boston Celtics

By law, I have to include the Celtics. Even if I personally would not go down the path it most likely takes to pull of a deal like this (Jaylen Brown), I won't rule out the possibility that Brad Stevens has cooked up some sort of insanely complicated multi-team trade idea that keeps Jaylen in Boston, gets KD to the Celtics and somehow gets them under the 2nd apron. Or maybe they do those trades first and then trade for KD. Who the fuck knows.

The point is, there's history there. The Celts own all their own picks, they have high salary players etc. Given the moves Brad is going to have to make this summer anyway, it would not shock me at all if they were one of those wild card suitors who put in a call just to gauge what something might look like.

Denver Nuggets

This one is a little tougher to pull off, but again, these have to be outside-the-box suitors. Is there a path to some sort of deal that is based around MPJ's $38M? Could they go crazy and try and flip the Jamal Murray contract since the Suns don't really have a point guard? 

The Nuggets are a team that needs to stop wasting the prime of Nikola Jokic. When you have the best player in the world and you're coming off an underachieving season, perhaps that could lead you to doing something drastic like getting involved in a KD trade. That's also a destination I could see KD being open to extending with, as playing next to Nikola Jokic basically extends your career by like 3 years. 

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Orlando Magic

What's something the Orlando Magic desperately need? More offense. Not only that, but elite 3 level offense, especially three point shooting. You know who helps with that? Kevin Durant. 

Getting to that salary number might be tough, but Jalen Suggs' extension does kick in at $35M. Add in KCP and his $21M and now you're cooking. Or, maybe they flip Cole Anthony and his $13M paired with Isaac and his $15M. The point is, there could be a path there.

That could create a bit of a wing logjam with Paolo/Franz/KD, but we've seen worse combinations. Given that the entire basketball world thinks the Magic are going to be going after a point guard to solve their offensive issues, it would be a pretty wild card move to actually be looking into a KD trade. Can't rule it out as a team that NEEDS offensive help.

Los Angeles Clippers

They feel like a team that's obsessed with aging players, so why not add KD to the mix? Not sure how they pull that off considering they don't have a ton of big money contracts on the books, but they feel like a team that might be ready to take another big swing somehow, plus you have the Harden/KD connection from when they were in BKN together. 

This might be the least likely simply due to the assets they could send back, but I don't think it would be a surprise to hear they called.

Los Angeles Lakers

Would the Suns help the Lakers? That feels weird given their history, but just like the Clippers, I think you have to include the Lakers in this. They can put their unprotected future picks on the table, maybe they float Austin Reaves as the main "young" player, and then add in the needed money to make the math work. Flip Rui, flip Gabe Vincent etc.

You also cannot rule out the fact that Adam Silver and the NBA clearly is not above doing shady shit to build a contender in LA. The first time they tried it by gifting them Luka, that team still lost in the 1st round. Well, what about adding KD to the mix somehow? You don't think Adam Silver has a ratings boner thinking about a LeBron/KD/Luka trio?

Also, remember what we know from Team USA history. Those rosters always tell us of a future pairing, and it's always two guys who NOBODY thought would play together. Well…..

Xinhua News Agency. Getty Images.

Golden State Warriors

OK, this one might be going a bit too far, but in terms of assets I don't think you can rule them out either. Would KD really go back to GS? While some think there's no shot, I disagree. If there's one thing we know about KD it's that he doesn't give a shit about optics. From a basketball standpoint, that could be the best basketball destination available. There's a familiarity there, Steph is still there, so as long as KD and Draymond have squashed their beef, I could see it.

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Plus, part of me thinks KD would entertain it simply for the chaos it would cause on Twitter. People would genuinely lose their minds.

So that's my list of "wild card" suitors. Who did I leave out?