HOURS after Mat Ishbia took over as owner of the Phoenix Suns, the team made a stunning acquisition, getting star forward Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets late Wednesday night (Thursday in Manila), according to The Athletic and ESPN.
Durant and T.J. Warren are headed to Phoenix in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round draft picks, per the reports. ESPN added that the Nets will get a 2028 draft-pick exchange, too.
The Suns add Durant to an underachieving squad that sits at 30-26, tied for fourth place in the Western Conference. Phoenix reached the NBA Finals in 2020-21, then posted the best regular season record in 2021-22 before falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the conference semifinals.
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday (Friday in Manila).
In another reported transaction, the Lakers receive D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota and Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt; the Timberwolves acquire Jazz guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker along with three second-round picks; and Utah picks up Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a lightly protected 2027 first-round pick from Los Angeles.
Durant’s exit from the Nets ends the sorry history of a ballyhooed “Big Three” that was expected to bring glory to Brooklyn.
Kyrie Irving signed a free-agent deal with the Nets in July 2021, and Durant joined up as a free agent the next month. When James Harden was acquired in a trade in February 2022, the Nets were viewed as a top contender, but injuries and Irving’s various off-court issues scuttled those hopes.
The Nets were swept in the first round of the playoffs last season. Harden exited as a free agent in July. Irving demanded a trade last week, then was dealt to the Mavericks on Monday, and now Durant is gone, too.
Durant, 34, won two NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors, won the NBA Most Valuable Player honor in 2013-14 and is a 13-time All-Star. He has been sidelined since Jan. 8 due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
In 39 games this season, Durant is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. In his NBA career with the Seattle SuperSonics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State and Brooklyn, he has averages of 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
