Kevin Durant on the scrutiny that comes with trade talks
Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant talked about the pressure involved in trade talks back in February after the trade deadline.
Kevin Durant will return to Phoenix on Nov. 24 to face his former team, one of the five must-see games for the Suns this season.
The Suns dealt Durant to Houston before the 2025 draft as part of a historic seven-team trade. Phoenix acquired Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft who wound up being Duke freshman 7-footer Khaman Maluach.
The Suns regular season schedule was release on Thursday, Aug. 14. Here are the five must-see contests:
Nov. 24 – Durant’s return: Rockets at Suns
The Suns were thinking championship when they landed Durant from Brooklyn in a blockbuster deal before the 2023 trade deadline that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks to the Nets.
Durant averaged 26.8 points in his 2½ seasons in Phoenix, reached the 30,000-point mark, but the Suns only won one playoff series during his time there.
The Suns not only fell way short of expectations with the all-time great, but entertained trade offers before the 2025 deadline he ultimately shut down.
When Durant was eventually traded, Kay Adams asked Durant at a Fanatics event June 22 in New York about “a lot of heartbroken Suns fans” over the trade.
Durant’s response: “I just felt like they wanted me to go. They got what they wanted. I got what I wanted. So, we can move on, and good luck to them going forward. Always remember my time there, but we’re on to something else.”
Expect boos. Not Oklahoma City Thunder level, but boos incoming.
Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green discusses joining the team
New Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green on joining the team after being traded from the Houston Rockets for Kevin Durant.
Oct. 22 – Season opener: Suns at Kings
The new-look Suns open the 2025-26 season with more questions than answers.
How will the Devin Booker-Jalen Green backcourt look?
The Suns have preached all summer about playing hard, physical, aggressive and fast under first-year head coach Jordan Ott.
How does that carry over into the season?
How much playing time will rookies Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea and Maluach get early?
That’s just three of many questions for the Suns. Not to mention the Kings have a solid team that went 3-1 against Phoenix last season.
Nov. 6 – Beal’s return: Clippers at Suns
The Suns dealt Chris Paul in landing Bradley Beal from Washington two summers ago in 2023 to pair the three-time All-Star with Booker and Durant.
Phoenix only got 78 games with this Big 3 largely due to Beal battling multiple injuries. Beal played in only 53 games in each of his two seasons.
Then Suns coach Mike Budenholzer even benched Beal, who hadn’t been a reserve since his fourth NBA season in 2015-16.
Having a five-year, $251-million contract that included a no-trade clause gave Suns fans even more reason to criticize Beal. This dislike unfortunately spilled over into a fan heckling his wife while she was with their children at a game in Phoenix last season.
“My wife was pretty calm about it, but my son is right there. She’s not going for none of that.”
Suns guard Bradley Beal on his wife as she took to social media to address a fan heckling her husband to a point their six-year old was crying when the fan, according to her, said.… pic.twitter.com/TzyVoX1bO7
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 28, 2025
The Suns wound up buying out Beal’s contract. Beal gave back essentially $13.9 million of the $110 million that remained on his contract over two seasons.
The Suns will stretch $96 million to $97 million over five years at about $19.4 million a year as part of a salary cap hit of $23.2 million, but the buyout puts the Suns under the first and second tax apron.
Beal ended up landing a two-year deal for $11 million with the Clippers with a player option. Beal said he needs “a ring” when addressing his decision,
Uh oh. Again, expect boos for his return.
Nov. 28 – Defending NBA champions: Suns at OKC
Any game against the league’s best is meaningful – and a measuring stick.
The Thunder have the league’s reigning NBA in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder boasted the top defensive team in the regular season and playoffs in winning their first NBA championship.
The Suns have lost six straight games to the Thunder. The last time they met in OKC, Phoenix lost, 140-109, Feb. 5, 2025.
Might get even uglier this time.
Dec. 23 – Ayton returns with LeBron, Luka: Lakers at Suns
Deandre Ayton was a major part of Phoenix’s resurgence that led to reaching the 2021 NBA Finals and winning a franchise-best 64 games the following season.
He was a talented big, but inconsistent.
The Suns decided to part with him right before the 2023 training camp. They traded Ayton to Portland in a three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee and Jusuf Nurkic to Phoenix.
The Suns haven’t gotten the same production at center since, but Ayton underperformed in his two seasons in Portland. The Blazers bought out Ayton, who has since joined the Lakers.
Paired up with Luka Doncic and LeBron James, Ayton is once again back on a championship contender that’s also Phoenix’s biggest rival.
Suns-Lakers matchups are always intense, especially in Phoenix.
Adding Ayton to the mix will certainly enhance this matchup.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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