Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant has been the topic of several NBA trade rumors leading up to Thursday’s deadline. A two-time Finals MVP, Durant is still one of the NBA’s most productive players at age 36.
Entering Wednesday, Durant owns season averages of 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 39 games this season. Despite this production, Phoenix is just 25-24, which ranks ninth in the Western Conference standings.
The Golden State Warriors have been one of the teams linked to Durant, and some additional news was shared by Sam Amick of The Athletic on Wednesday that confirmed the legitimacy of a potential Suns-Warriors trade.
“It’s escalated quickly,” Amick said. “I think the Warriors thing is very real… There were moments last night where I thought this was actually gonna happen.”
Amick added this was a significant development, because there were moments in previous days when Golden State expressed frustration with Phoenix during trade talks.
Shortly after this news of Golden State’s ramped-up pursuit of Durant, it was revealed by NBA insider Chris Haynes that Phoenix had made the decision to rule its star forward out for Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant (ankle soreness) will not play tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources inform me,” Haynes reported.
Durant has played 26 straight games for Phoenix entering Wednesday night. The four-time scoring champion averaged 27.5 points during this stretch, converting on 51.9% of his field goal attempts.
The Suns deciding to rule Durant out for their last game before the NBA trade deadline, especially after the latest Warriors news, is an interesting development. That said, it is important to note that Durant did appear to hurt his ankle in Phoenix’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
“It appears Durant hurt his ankle when denying Deandre Ayton at the rim with three minutes remaining in regulation of Monday’s 121-119 overtime loss at Portland,” Duane Rankin of azcentral wrote on Wednesday.