Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant (7) celebrates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Chicago. Chicago won 121-112. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
It happened.
It finally happened.
Kevin Durant is coming to Phoenix.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported just after 11 p.m. on Wednesday that the Phoenix Suns traded for 2-time NBA champion, 2-time Finals MVP and 13-time All Star Kevin Durant.
In exchange for Durant’s services, the Suns shipped off forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Jae Crowder to the Brooklyn Nets. They also sent the Nets four first-round picks and a pick swap.
Bleacher Report and TNT’s Chris Haynes initially reported Durant was interested in a trade to the Suns on June 30 last year. The Suns and Nets couldn’t come to an agreement on a trade last year and 50 games into the season a KD-to-Phoenix deal seemed all but dead.
Instead the Suns’ new owner Mat Ishbia and general manager pulled the trigger on one of the biggest trades in franchise and NBA history, landing one of the league’s premiere superstars.
Phoenix has a history in superstar trades. Roughly 30 years ago, the Suns traded for Philadelphia 76ers star Charles Barkley. Barkley brought the Suns to their second-ever NBA Finals, eventually losing to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
The Suns traded away much of their depth and over half of their draft picks for the rest of the decade for Durant.
Now, the pressure is on—the Suns made a huge gamble in trading for Durant. Now he and superstar guard Devin Booker look to make a deep playoff run and win the franchise’s first championship in a year where the Western Conference seems more wide open than in recent memory.
Booker already had a taste of the Finals in 2021, when the Suns lost in 6 games to the Milwaukee Bucks. Now he has a running-mate who can be the best player in the world on any given night.
The gamble was worth it, but can the Suns cash in?
We’ll have the next four years of a Booker, Durant, and Deandre Ayton core to find out.
Looking for the latest Arizona news? Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter.
Author
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Arizonans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at The Copper Courier has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Arizona families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
He said what? 10 things to know about RFK Jr.
The Kennedy family has long been considered “Democratic royalty.” But Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while...
Here’s everything you need to know about this month’s Mercury retrograde
Does everything in your life feel a little more chaotic than usual? Or do you feel like misunderstandings are cropping up more frequently than they...
Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its officials are going on offense
Republican Richer and Democrat Fontes are taking more aggressive steps than ever to rebuild trust with voters, knock down disinformation, and...
George Santos’ former treasurer running attack ads in Arizona with Dem-sounding PAC name
An unregistered, Republican-run political action committee from Texas with a deceptively Democratic name and ties to disgraced US Rep. George Santos...
