The Phoenix Suns have been involved in many huge trades over the past few years. After giving up a massive haul for Kevin Durant a couple of years ago, the team brought in Bradley Beal to give them three all-star caliber players. This season did not go as expected. While the Suns did manage to nab the sixth seed in the Western Conference, the whole year was a struggle. They were bounced easily by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. This has led to many people speculating the team would try and trade Durant. GM James Jones shut down these rumors.
Phoenix Suns GM Shuts Down Kevin Durant Rumors
After the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, GM James Jones spoke to reporters. Of course, he was asked about the rampant speculation the team was trying to recoup some draft capital and move Kevin Durant to another team. He indicated that Durant would be in the Phoenix Suns uniform next season.
“It’s the stuff that gets clicks and that everyone wants to talk about, but I think I said it specifically back on May 19th when I was asked are we trading Kevin Durant. I said no then, I’ll say no now. I’ll continue to get asked.”
The media does love to speculate. To be honest, it’s fun! Imagining players like Kevin Durant on other teams is interesting to talk about. Furthermore, the team seems far away from competing for a championship. They looked miles behind the top teams in the conference last season. However, it seems the Phoenix Suns will opt to retool rather than blow it up.
The Case For Running It Back
It isn’t crazy for the Phoenix Suns to decide to run it back with the current core. Injuries were a huge problem for the team last year. Kevin Durant only played 41 regular season games with Bradley Beal on the court. Because of the lack of playing time together, the team looked off the whole year. They also brought in Mike Budenholzer, who has an NBA Championship under his belt with the Milwaukee Bucks. If this team has better injury luck and another year to get to know each other, they could be better.
It’s also easy to forget the team went 49-33 despite all of the turmoil. While they were outclassed in the playoffs, nabbing a top-six seed in any conference means the franchise had a good year. We love to point out the flaws and they are definitely still there. However, the Phoenix Suns still have one of the most talented rosters in the NBA. Kevin Durant is still an elite scorer as is Devin Booker. If GM James Jones can retool the roster around them, this team could make some noise next season.