Durant prefers Heat, Spurs, Rockets, sources say

The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are Phoenix Suns prima Kevin Durant's preferred commercialized destinations, sources told ESPN connected Saturday night. Those crossed the NBA person been made alert successful caller days that those are the 3 teams that Durant would perpetrate to long-term.

Durant is connected an expiring $54.7 cardinal woody for the 2025-26 play and the Suns person made wide to the six-to-eight earnestly funny teams that they volition marque the champion woody for the franchise, sources said.

Teams astir the NBA person been anticipating that Durant would beryllium traded ever since the Suns engaged successful talks astir the February commercialized deadline, which passed with the 15-time All-Star inactive successful Phoenix.

Once helium is traded, Durant volition beryllium eligible to motion a two-year declaration hold connected July 6 worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $122 million. If helium were to hold six months aft the trade, helium could motion a two-year hold worthy up to $124 million.

The NBA escaped bureau marketplace resets successful the summertime of 2026, with teams that person headdress abstraction expanding from conscionable 1 this offseason, the Brooklyn Nets, to fractional of the league.

Durant was astir traded to the Golden State Warriors astatine the February commercialized deadline earlier helium made it wide that helium was not funny successful a reunion and preferred to decorativeness the play with the Suns. At the time, sources told ESPN that Durant was blindsided by the Suns including him successful immoderate commercialized conversations. This clip around, the sides are expected to enactment unneurotic connected his adjacent home.

Durant, who turns 37 successful September, made his 15th All-Star squad this play and averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists successful 62 games. The aboriginal Hall of Famer has averaged astatine slightest 25 points, 50% shooting and 40% connected 3-pointers successful 3 consecutive seasons, the longest streak ever successful the NBA, according to ESPN Research. As a shooter, Durant remains prolific: He changeable an NBA-best connected jumpers (49.7%) and midrange shots (53.1%). He besides had the champion shooting percent connected off-the-dribble jumpers (50.9%), according to GeniusIQ.

The Suns went 36-46 this play and finished successful 11th spot successful the Western Conference with the highest payroll successful league history, starring to organizational changes that culminated successful naming enforcement Brian Gregory arsenic the caller wide manager and hiring Cleveland Cavaliers adjunct manager Jordan Ott arsenic their caller coach.

Durant arrived successful Phoenix successful a February 2023 deadline trade, and his 26.8 points per crippled arsenic a subordinate of the franchise is the astir successful Suns history.