Suns Reject Spurs Counteroffer for Kevin Durant
The Kevin Durant trade saga has seen major developments over the last few days. With the NBA Draft just over a week away, the chatter surrounding potential deals has increased significantly. And although the San Antonio Spurs were favored to land Durant in a trade, the Phoenix Suns are said to have rejected the Spurs' latest offer.
Advertisement
As per Sports Illustrated's Shadab Khan, the Spurs presented a counteroffer to the Suns for Durant. The trade package featured Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, the No. 14 pick, and second-round draft capital.
While this aligns with an expected trade proposal, it appears that the Suns are not interested in such a deal, demanding Stephon Castle or Jeremy Sochan instead.
The Spurs' counteroffer was in response to the Suns' initial demand for Vassell, Sochan, Barnes, the No. 14 pick, along with two first-rounders. Needless to say, the Spurs had to reject this.
San Antonio has made it abundantly clear that they are unwilling to part ways with Castle or Sochan, both of whom have become integral players in the Spurs' plans. While also considering that Castle won the ROTY award, San Antonio would be very mindful in tracking his development, making him a very difficult asset to pry away.
Advertisement
This rejection could have major implications in the overall scheme of things. While Durant and San Antonio had a mutual interest in joining forces, it seems difficult to formulate a trade if the Suns don't receive enough picks and young players in return.
The asking price for Durant has been a matter of concern for a while. Although the Suns have been put into a desperate situation, considering their legitimate intention to trade him, Phoenix may still be asking for too much in return.
Regardless, stagnation in trade talks with the Spurs creates opportunities for other teams to pursue Durant. Several teams have also emerged as likely suitors.
The Houston Rockets have been viewed as the most likely landing spot in recent times. With the likelihood of Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. being included in the trade, the Suns may view such a package as favorable as well.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, there is some indication that a couple of dark-horse teams may also be lurking amidst trade rumors. Marc Stein presented the Toronto Raptors as a team to look at to make a move.
The Raptors are expected to view Durant as a "rental", with no intention of extending him, a similar deal to Kawhi Leonard's in 2018. Meanwhile, ESPN's Brian Windhorst has also presented the Los Angeles Clippers as a potential landing spot, paving the way for a reunion with Durant's former teammate James Harden.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have also been cited as a team to keep an eye on in these dealings. However, the Wolves have also made some restrictions clear, ensuring that Jaden McDaniels will be kept out of any trade talks involving Durant.
The nature of the situation lends itself to some obstacles, preventing an actual deal from happening any time soon. But given the time crunch, with the NBA Draft around the corner, the notion that Durant will be traded before or on the night of the draft seems to be gaining more traction.
Related: Bold 3-Team Trade Idea Sends Kevin Durant To Preferred Destination
This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
6 minutes ago
- USA Today
HoopsHype ranks Houston's Kevin Durant at No. 2 among NBA small forwards
The Christmas Day showdown between the Rockets and Lakers will feature the NBA's top-two small forwards of the 2025-26 season, according to HoopsHype's latest rankings. In HoopsHype's rankings of expected production for the 2025-26 NBA season, the Houston Rockets have Fred VanVleet at No. 17 among point guards and Amen Thompson at No. 7 among shooting guards. They're even higher than that at small forward, and it's largely why the Rockets have emerged as a championship contender. Kevin Durant, who earned his 15th career All-Star honor last season, checks in at No. 2 on the small-forward rankings. HoopsHype's explanation: For how much things change in the NBA, sometimes, they also stay the same, and these next two players are a great example of that. Even with the NBA's always-shifting strategies based on analytics, somehow, someway, Kevin Durant and LeBron James remain the best small forwards in basketball, in our estimation. Last season, Durant was one of just six players to put up a 26/6/4 stat line, and did so while shooting an astronomical 43 percent from three. According to VORP and BPM, Durant was roughly a Top 30 player in the league. Can he still be the best player on a championship team? We're about to find out, as Durant joins a strong Houston team replete with players that have either championship experience like Fred VanVleet, or have loads of promise like Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun. Joining a well-rounded team with toughness and skill on both ends of the floor, if Durant is still an All-NBA-level player and a ceiling raiser for a team, he should be able to prove it in 2025-26... as he won't be forced to endure as much of the two-way load as he did with the Phoenix Suns. The only small forward ranked ahead of Durant is James, and the two future Hall of Famers will face off on Christmas Day in a primetime showdown between the Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. Houston (52-30) and Los Angeles (50-32) finished as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in last season's Western Conference standings, and both teams are hopeful of more growth in 2025-26 amid the first full season of Luka Doncic with the Lakers and Durant's recent arrival in Houston. More: HoopsHype rankings: Rockets star Amen Thompson at No. 7 among NBA shooting guards
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA summer predictions: Projecting the West's best teams and LeBron James' future with the Lakers
With the NBA's new schedule out, and training camps just weeks away, it's time to look ahead to the 2025-26 season. What does the future hold for the Western Conference? Our writers take an early stab at predicting how the standings will play out. (Check out our East predictions, too.) Which West team will make the biggest leap in the standings? Dan Devine: The Spurs, but almost by default. The second through eighth seeds in the West were separated by four wins last season, with 48 Ws representing the low end. Nos. 9 through 12 were separated by four wins, too. That kind of congestion makes it tough to envision most of the teams in the conference taking too huge a jump, so give me San Antonio — 34 wins with Victor Wembanyama missing 36 games and De'Aaron Fox playing just 578 in silver and black — to climb the standings with better health, better depth and another year of seasoning. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Ben Rohrbach: The Spurs. Assuming Wembanyama remains healthy, he will be the best defensive player in the league, and on offense he will be set up by a trio of guards — Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle — who are explosive in their own right. They have added some veteran depth around Wembanyama, and they still have much of their existing core, including Devin Vassell. It is a team primed to make a leap from outside the play-in tournament into the hunt for a guaranteed playoff seed. Vincent Goodwill: The easy answer is the Spurs, almost because everyone else in the West is bunched together. We are assuming a full season of Victor Wembanyama and, if that happens, one season closer to him being fully actualized. More playmakers around him to make the game easier and one can expect his first of many DPOYs. Going from 34 wins to at least 43-44 isn't unreasonable. Tom Haberstroh: The Spurs. It's hard to pick any of the West teams that made the playoffs last season since almost all of them were basically 50-win outfits. Of the teams that were in the bottom half, the Spurs have the highest upside with Fox and Wembanyama healthy. I think the public is underestimating the potential for Wemby to establish himself as the NBA's best player by the end of the season. Which West team will make the biggest drop in the standings? Haberstroh: The Lakers. From a standings standpoint, I don't see how the Lakers stay at a No. 3 seed again. I'm a believer in Skinny Luka, but if LeBron James is at all checked out, there's not nearly enough depth on this roster to sustain a level required to having first-round homecourt advantage. I fear the talent drop-off after Luka Dončić, James and Austin Reaves will doom them this season. Devine: This sucks, but … the Kings. I'm just bracing for the worst in Sacramento, where Fox is gone, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are hosting a revival of the wildly-underwhelming-in-the-worse-conference Bulls, Domantas Sabonis exited the season hoping for a point guard, and Scott Perry responded with Dennis Schröder and (maybe?) Russell Westbrook. Maybe Doug Christie's got the goods to turn all of this into a team that doesn't find itself drowning well below .500 in the West. But maybe, before too long, last season's 40-42 mark feels like the start of another disastrously steep descent. Rohrbach: The Lakers. Listen: LeBron James will turn 41 years old this season, and he does not seem happy about his current status within the organization, or at least that is what his last public statement suggested. That has a chance to disrupt the team's chemistry throughout the season. Even if it does not, the Lakers face real defensive issues as they try to build lineups around James, Dončić and Reaves. The addition of Deandre Ayton at the center position does little to assuage concern. Goodwill: This is no indictment, but what if it's the Thunder? For the same reasons so many other teams in the West are bunched, what happens if the Thunder slide to an unfathomable 60 wins just from being a champion and taking everyone's best shot? It wouldn't be a mark of decline; remember, the Warriors of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant went from 67 wins to 58 in a year, just because even dynastic defending is still damned hard. Who will finish with the top six seeds in the West? Goodwill: (1) Thunder, (2) Nuggets, (3) Rockets, (4) Warriors, (5) Timberwolves, (6) Clippers The Thunder are still built to be a regular-season juggernaut with youth and the like. Cameron Johnson over Michael Porter Jr. already looks to be an upgrade, but could we be giving the Nuggets too much assumed love when hardly anyone in today's NBA stays atop or near it for too long? Denver and Houston could flip-flop, as could the Timberwolves and Warriors in the 4-5 spots. A full 'best of the rest of' Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler could have them right around 50, but you can't assume health — a big reason why the graybeards in Los Angeles barely escape the play-in. Haberstroh: (1) Thunder, (2) Rockets, (3) Nuggets, (4) Clippers, (5) Warriors, (6) Timberwolves The West is going to be a bloodbath, but I have the most confidence in these teams locking in slots. I'm sincerely hoping we get Lakers-Mavs in a win-or-go-home play-in tournament game. Make it happen, basketball gods. Devine: (1) Thunder, (2) Nuggets, (3) Timberwolves, (4) Rockets, (5) Warriors, (6) Clippers Even if another 68-win campaign seems like a lot to expect, the champs take the top spot until proven otherwise. I loved the Nuggets' offseason, and feel plenty confident betting on Nikola Jokić to get them to 50-plus wins; I'm pricing in a slight adjustment period, though, for Houston after the addition of Kevin Durant, who brings both titanic scoring talent and, seemingly, a fairly particular emotional weather system with him everywhere he goes. Maybe I'm overly bullish on Minnesota, given the loss of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the big bets that team president Tim Connelly has made on youngsters like Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon and Jaylen Clark to back-fill the rotation, but head coach Chris Finch is as good as it gets at maximizing his roster around supernova Anthony Edwards. I think what Golden State found after the Jimmy Butler trade was real, and I think the Clippers' reloaded depth is real … and, evidently, I think they're more real than the Lakers' bet that Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia will fix a defense that gave up 121.6 points per 100 possessions — a league-worst-caliber mark — when Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves shared the floor. Rohrbach: (1) Thunder, (2) Nuggets, (3) Rockets, (4) Timberwolves, (5) Warriors, (6) Clippers Oklahoma City is a juggernaut. Denver and Houston made moves to firmly position themselves as Nos. 2 and 3 in the West. Minnesota and Anthony Edwards are still lurking. And I trust the veteran stewardship of Golden State and the L.A. Clippers more than I do the defense of the Lakers or the youth of some other challengers, including the Spurs and Grizzlies. However you order them, there are only six slots for twice as many competitors. What's your boldest summer prediction involving the West? Rohrbach: Go big or go home: LeBron James will not be on the Lakers at the end of the season. It made sense for the Lakers to trade James from the moment they traded for Dončić. Paying a 40-year-old max money is a hindrance to building a contender around a 26-year-old perennial MVP candidate. It just is. Who knows how the Lakers find a partner to match salaries for James, but they would be wise to acquire whatever they can for one of the game's all-time greats before he could leave them in 2026 free agency. Goodwill: The Sacramento Kings won't be as bad as everyone thinks. With that roster being logjammed, would a contender or wanna-be contender out East try to get Malik Monk or even DeMar DeRozan to solidify themselves in this Boston-Indiana sabbatical year? And maybe the Kings find themselves in a dogfight with the Lakers for one of the play-in spots. Bold, I know. Haberstroh: LeBron waives his no-trade clause and OK's a trade to the Cavs. He's coming home — again. It won't be easy, but if the Cavs get off to a slow start, Darius Garland's contract could be large enough to grease the wheels in a three- or four-team trade. Devine: Apparently, it's that the Lakers will be in the play-in tournament, Skinny Luka and all. I know. I'm just as surprised as you are!
NBC Sports
5 hours ago
- NBC Sports
How to watch Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur live: Stream link, TV channel, team news, prediction
Pep Guardiola looks to keep the good times rolling at Manchester City and pour some cold water on Thomas Frank's early Tottenham Hotspur career when two Big Six sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Man City walloped Wolves at the Molineux in Week 1 as Erling Haaland scored a pair of goals and Tijjani Reijnders looked a natural fit for Pep Guardiola's system. WATCH – Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur Spurs also had a great season-opening result, as Thomas Frank's men clobbered Burnley 3-0 in North London. Frank won at the Etihad Stadium with Brentford in 2022, but his record versus Guardiola isn't spectacular aside from that. Frank's teams are 2W-1D-5L versus City dating back to December 29, 2021, though they've never lost by more than two goals — a decent achievement against the City dynasty. For live updates and highlights throughout Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur, check out PST's live blog coverage below. How to watch Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time Kick off time: 7:30am ET Saturday Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester TV Channel: Peacock Streaming: Stream live on Peacock Manchester City team news, focus OUT: Mateo Kovacic (calf), Josko Gvardiol (knock), Savinho (undisclosed), Kalvin Phillips (achilles), Marcus Bettinelli (knock) | QUESTIONABLE: Rodri (groin), Phil Foden (ankle), Ederson (illness), Claudio Echeverri (ankle) Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus OUT: Manor Solomon (calf), Bryan Gil (knee), James Maddison (torn ACL - MORE), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Destiny Udogie (knee), Radu Dragusin (knee), Kota Takai (foot) | QUESTIONABLE: Yves Bissouma (undisclosed) Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction Spurs will get their chances but City are stronger from the start and significantly deeper in terms of game-changing players and ideas. Frank changes the latter quite a bit, but it's too early in the project to expect such a statement result. Man City 2-1 Spurs.
