Kevin Durant's Preferred Trade List Is Out And He Reportedly Wants To Join San Antonio, Houston, Or Miami

Chris Coduto. Getty Images.

Let me begin by saying it's complete bullshit that we got a late night Shams tweet about the KD trade and it wasn't the actual official trade announcement. Is this even really news? We already had an idea that teams like San Antonio and Houston were potential destinations, as both teams fit the profile of a team that would be interested in getting into the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Both teams have a need for a "go to" scorer, both are floating in between a win now window and still building around an exciting young core. Both have picks and large money contracts to flip. It hasn't exactly been a secret that those two teams were going to be in the discussion.

When it comes to the Heat, we hear every summer how they are interested in Player X, yet nobody really seems to ever go there. You may remember that once upon a time, Damian Lillard very publicly demanded a trade to Miami, and he's currently sitting in Wisconsin. 

I suppose the reason this is newsworthy is that it's the list of teams that Durant is willing to sign an extension with, which given what I'm sure the Suns are going to be asking for in any potential deal, gives the team receiving KD a bit of security. Maybe that's an extra pick, maybe that's a different salary filler player etc. What that does do, though, is create another question.

What about everyone else? What about teams outside of those three, do they even make an offer? What about the Wolves? 

According to the Suns, it's basically fuck KD's list, come with your best offer and we'll talk

Is there a team out there that's willing to take the same risk the 2019 Raptors took with Kawhi? On one hand, they won the title by taking that risk, so it's definitely worth it. On the other hand, it's been a disaster ever since. Do you go all in and bring in KD and hope he likes it and decides to stay? That's quite the matzah ball of a decision. 

As a franchise, this is exactly how the Suns should be operating. KD is the biggest trade chip they could possibly move this offseason. If a team is willing to take the risk and give up something better than those 3 teams to bring in KD, the Suns do it without thinking. They have a future they now need to start building for. Sucks it didn't work out, shit happens, so either get those 3 teams to offer up their best or it's off to the highest bidder. 

Advertisement

If it ends up coming down to those 3 teams, I think I'd prefer the Spurs. I am definitely interested in seeing a KD/Wemby in a frontcourt. That's a franchise that needs scoring and is ready to make a leap, and I think even with what they would have to give up in the trade that KD still helps them win now. Maybe not title contention, but the exact type of situations you want Wemby to start experiencing as he continues his development. He needs to start playing in high leverage games/playoff games seeing as how this is now the start of Year 3. 

At the same time, I have to admit the Rockets would be fun simply because it felt like they were a "go to" scorer away from being pretty serious. If you add KD to like 75% of last year's Rockets roster, that team is pretty fucking good. Add in the fact that there's a history there with KD and Ime dating back to the Nets, and they're a team that maybe gives him a better chance at contention compared to everyone else on his list. 

Either way, all the smoke to end the week was that a KD trade was just days away, and now here we are on Saturday night learning what the preferred trade list is. Recent NBA history has shown us that sometimes players end up where they want (KD, Harden) and some get screwed (Dame). How this one shakes out is anyone's guess, but it feels like the Shams bomb is coming any minute. He probably already has it in his drafts.