Report: Kevin Durant Trade Expected to Happen Sooner Than Later

Yahoo

21 hours ago

In the past few days, the Minnesota Timberwolves have surged back to the front of the Kevin Durant deal-making line, after trade talks between the Wolves and Suns were put into the offseason microwave by the two front offices this week.
Once Wolves + Durant chatter picked up this week, many around the league have tagged Minnesota as the perfect landing spot for the 36-year-old 10x All-NBA selection. This, after the two sides got close, but ultimately failed to complete a last-second deal before the trade deadline back in February.
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Related: NBA Insider Reveals Realistic Kevin Durant Trade Scenario
In the flurry of reports that dropped around that time, and then again after the season ended, KD has made it known around league circles that Minnesota is one of his top-choice destinations. And that's because the Timberwolves have what Kevin Durant is looking for.
Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images
Not only (and most importantly) are the Wolves ready to win right now, but also, KD has quite the bromance developing with 23-year-old phenom, Anthony Edwards. It's a relationship that was recently made much stronger when the two won gold together with Team USA at the 2024 Olympics. I have no doubt that their friendship plays a role in Kevin Durant's thinking right now too.
Kevin Durant trade timeline reportedly speeding up…
As of Thursday, the word around the NBA street was that the Suns had set a self-induced deadline for a KD trade to be executed by the start of the NBA Draft, which tips off on Wednesday, June 25. That way, they would be able to capitalize on any 2025 draft capital they might receive back in any Durant deal.
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Life moves fast during the NBA offseason, however, and according to Shams Charania (ESPN) today on the Pat McAfee Show, the KD trade talks have nearly boiled over in the past 24 hours.
As of this afternoon, the league's most trusted insider is reporting that there are currently three teams leading the pursuit of Kevin Durant (Wolves, Rockets, Heat) and that he now expects a trade to be consummated within the next few days.
'You said a week, I think [a Kevin Durant trade] could be even sooner than that. I think there's some motivation with some teams, potentially even sooner than seven days, potentially in the next few days, we could get some Kevin Durant trade action.
There is some serious traction on conversations, on trade scenarios with the Suns. They've had about six to eight teams reach out. There's been interest, there's been some offers, there's been some negotiations.
But really, in the last 24-48 hours, I'm told the focus on the Suns conversations have been with a few teams, the Houston Rockets, the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves. I'm told those are the teams where a lot of the focus for Durant lies.'
Shams Charania – Pat McAfee Show (ESPN)
If the Wolves land Durant, what could a trade package look like?
The Timberwolves need another high-volume scoring threat to compliment Anthony Edwards. Who better to fill that role than arguably the most dynamic scorer in NBA history? Even better, Ant sees KD in a light that he doesn't view any other NBA colleague, being he grew up worshipping Kevin Durant.
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Related: Minnesota Timberwolves *Almost* All In on Kevin Durant…
Of course, none of this guarantees the Wolves will land Durant. If they do, Shams warns that a contract extension may not immediately be on the table for, depending on where he ends up.
'He's on an expiring contract, about $54 million, and that could come up as an issue here. If there's a team that for sure wants his extension, or will there be a team — like what happened with Kawhi Leonard in 2018 — where they literally had no idea whether he wanted to be there, probably didn't want to be there, and then they trade for him, win a championship, and then he leaves anway.
So will there be a team, whether it's in this mix or a wildcard team, that just takes a swing and banks on themselves in hopes that they can potentially make a deep run and keep him there. But that is going to be the big question.'
Shams Charania – Pat McAfee Show (ESPN)
We do now know exactly what the Minnesota Timberwolves have on the table for KD. But Friday morning, former NBA GM turned Shams colleague at ESPN, Bobby Marks, put out what he described as a realistic trade scenario between the Wolves and Suns.
It had Durant coming over for a package that included Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley and a 1st round draft pick later this month. You can read more about that HERE.
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