Everyone seemed to be ready to bring Kevin Durant from Phoenix back to Golden State, except one person, the player himself. Apparently the veteran -attacker was not too enthusiastic to be traded from the Suns team, especially about the idea of returning to a place where he won two NBA titles.
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on NBA todayThe 15 times All-Star admitted that he was the one who prevented negotiations from continuing. KD spoke the comments of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr that he did not want to return to San Francisco because of the criticism with which he was confronted during those three seasons.
“People talk crazy about me all the time. That is not the reason why I didn’t want to come back, I just didn’t want to be traded halfway through the season. It was nothing against my time with the Warriors, or I heard it was because I don’t like the Drayond [Green].
Wow: The Warriors suggested Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, 1st round picks, 2nd round picks and picking to the suns for Kevin Durant.
The trade fell through when KD showed zero interest to return to the Warriors. (Via @Shamscharania)) pic.twitter.com/4dwvbuayag
– Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 7, 2025
“At the end of the day I just didn’t want to move, and I wanted to get through with my team in Phoenix and see what we could do for the rest of the season,” the 36-year-old explained this week. “So I’m glad I’m still there.”
The Suns have not met expectations, because the owners have invested heavily in changing a title contents team. Phoenix is currently in 11th place in the Western Conference with a 26-28 marking and could not make an important addition during the trade market.
Although Durant could reject this trade before the deadline, reports are close to the club that he is now a candidate to leave Arizona in the summer. The veteran also tackled these rumors during the ESPN interview and admitted that this is a possibility because the NBA is a company.
“You have to ask the Front Office about that,” the superstar began. “I never intended to leave, I didn’t ask for an exchange of Phoenix. But it is clear that if you pay so much for a team and we don’t play our expectations, someone has to go. “
