Kevin Durant: Which team, Heat or Suns, give KD the best option to win
The case for the Phoenix Suns
It’s hard to predict what a Kevin Durant trade would look like from the Suns, but it would almost absolutely gut their roster and future draft capital. Under that assumption, we have to assume that the only key pieces that will remain on the roster for Phoenix will be Devin Booker and Chris Paul.
Other key contributors Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Landry Shamet, and Cameron Payne would almost mostly all be gone in the deal. Perhaps the Suns could keep Payne or Shamet, but I’d have a hard time believing that. Nevertheless, essentially, the Suns’ core would be rebuilt around Paul, Booker, and Durant.
And, quite frankly, the rest of the roster may not even matter. Booker is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the game and Paul, even at the age of 37, is still one of the best leaders in the game.
KD would add a whole different level to this team that they currently don’t have on their roster. They’d have a huge hole in the frontcourt by letting Ayton walk, but they’d also have the best trio in the game.
Plus, let’s not forget that the Suns also have one of the best front offices and head coaches in the game. Monty Williams just won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award and would be getting the best player in the game.
He’d find a way to make it work and the Suns would be able to get some quality veterans to take some pay cuts to play with a championship-level trio.
Looking at the rest of the Western Conference, the competition is where the biggest barrier to entry could land. The LA Clippers will be healthy again, the Los Angeles Lakers can’t be worse than they were this past season and could replace Russell Westbrook with Kyrie Irving, the Memphis Grizzlies are only going to get better with Ja Morant, the Denver Nuggets will be healthy again as well, and the defending champs aren’t likely going to take a step back this season.
The competition in the West will be stiff, but I don’t see a team that would have a leg up (at least on paper) over the trio in Phoenix.