If you are someone who has really been excited about Kevin Durant possibly coming to the Phoenix Suns, then Thursday was definitely full of bad news for you.
That’s because Thursday was when the Indiana Pacers offered a massive deal for Deandre Ayton of the Suns, only for Phoenix to turn around and match it.
By re-signing Ayton, the Suns’ chances of getting Durant just got much slimmer.
.@WindhorstESPN reacts to the Suns retaining Deandre Ayton:
"It just closes some windows that the Suns were interested in pursuing to get Kevin Durant." pic.twitter.com/YSLem4y7fZ
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 15, 2022
Brian Windhorst put it best, saying how the Suns were hoping to use Ayton as part of a package to get Durant from the Brooklyn Nets.
But now that they’ve been forced to re-commit to Ayton, the Suns would have to send away some other trade assets for Durant, something they definitely don’t want to do.
“It just closes some windows that the Suns were interested in pursing to get Kevin Durant,” Windhorst said.
Can’t Catch KD
When the news leaked of Durant demanding a trade from the Nets, his desired destinations were apparently the Miami Heat or the Suns.
Obviously either team would jump at the chance to land Durant but the Suns are running out ways to make a deal work unless they want to ship away some of their core players.
The Heat have a few more options but the ball is in Brooklyn’s court: they are in complete control of where Durant goes and they couldn’t care less about his wishes.
The Nets will decide to send Durant to the team that offers them the best deal, it will have nothing to do with his hopes.
Phoenix could still put a sizable deal together to get Durant but it sure won’t be easy.
NEXT: The Suns Dodged A Major Bullet With Deandre Ayton