A latest report indicates that a Kevin Durant trade at some point this offseason is all but a foregone conclusion.
The Kevin Durant era with the Phoenix Suns left a ton to be desired. In fact, it will probably be remembered as one of the bigger disappointments of his career. For all intents and purposes, it appears that that chapter of his life is going to be over. According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, there's a 98 percent chance KD gets traded this summer. That's a pretty big statement that should send shockwaves across the league, especially for the Suns' fan base.
Even though there was somewhat of an expectation that KD was going to be traded by the Phoenix Suns this offseason, this statement pretty much hammers home that idea. At this point, with how the reporting has been trending since the NBA Trade Deadline, fans should be fully prepared for the Suns to trade KD.
As the NBA offseason quickly approaches, the biggest question revolves around where KD will be traded and when it will happen. At least for now, it's impossible to answer those concerns. However, the expectation continues to be that a blockbuster trade of KD will happen before the start of next season.
What's next for the Phoenix Suns?
If the Suns are indeed at a place where they're ready to completely move on from KD, it begs the question: what's next for the franchise? Taking the perspective of the Suns, you can't help but wonder what their future is going to look like. Any deal for KD is going to be underwhelming. At best, the Suns are going to be able to snag a couple of first-round picks and a salary filler to make the money work all around.
However, this expectation that the Suns are going to get this huge return needs to be dispelled. I can't imagine there's any trade waiting to happen involving KD that's going to bring back equal value for the Suns. That means Phoenix is going to take a bit of a step back from a talent perspective and will almost certainly be heading into a gap year, if not longer, for the franchise.
The Suns will probably use this offseason to compile assets for the future while trying to trade both KD and Bradley Beal. They will then use the season and next offseason to try and retool (once again) around Devin Booker. If I had to guess what the plan is for the Suns heading into the future, I'd predict that.
Does that mean that's the best course of action moving forward? No, but considering this aggressive ownership group probably doesn't want to rebuild, especially considering it would also force the team to trade Booker, this is the most logical pathway forward.
But all of that has to start this summer with the Suns pulling off two big trades. It may all start with KD, who could be traded as soon as the NBA Draft.