NOT FEELING SO HOT
There are whispers around the league that former Nets star Kevin Durant is growing increasingly frustrated with his current situation in Phoenix. Brooklyn fans have certainly seen this movie before.
Once it became clear that Kyrie Irving and James Harden had no interest in remaining with the Nets for the long-haul, the team eventually accommodated Durant’s trade request last season and sent him and T.J. Warren to the Suns in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap.
Phoenix then sent six second-round picks and four first-round pick swaps to the Washington Wizards last offseason for Bradley Beal in a decision fueled by owner Mat Ishbia.
Durant, Beal and Devin Booker were supposed to form the NBA’s newest, most lethal Big 3 that would radically shift the balance of power in the Western Conference. But through the Suns’ first 29 games this season it is clear that things have not gone according to plan.
The Suns are just 14-15 following a 128-114 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day. Durant has appeared in 25 of those games and has averaged 30.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 51.8% from the field and 46.9% from 3-point range. He has played a total of 24 minutes (two games) with Beal and Booker this season.
It has felt a lot like Durant’s last try at a Big 3 with the Nets. He played only 16 games total with Irving and Harden. The Suns are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference standings and would not even be a Play-In team if the season ended today. This is not the kind of situation
Durant thought he was stepping into after forcing his way out of Brooklyn.
And it gets worse if Phoenix can’t find a way to get healthy and turn their season around. Because the Suns are top-heavy in terms of salary, that forced the team to fill out the rest of its roster with veteran-minimum deals. The Suns’ bench averages just 29.3 points per game, which ranks 24th in the NBA entering Tuesday’s games.
“Start with Kevin Durant. You talk to people in Phoenix and around that organization, they can feel the frustration [from] Durant,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Monday on NBA Countdown. “Part of that, certainly, is the missed games for Brad Beal. This team was built around those three stars. The underwhelming supporting cast, that comes from those massive trades for Durant and Beal that really gutted the organization.”
The Suns do not currently have the assets to improve their roster much. And the more Phoenix struggles, the more valuable the Nets’ future picks that were acquired in the Durat deal become.
Brooklyn beat the Suns 116-112 in Phoenix on Dec. 13, a game where Durant, Beal and Booker were all healthy. And it also feels like the Nets are winning last season’s trade.
“And then understanding they lack the assets, the draft picks, the trade capital to go out and really improve this team,” Wojnarowski said of the Suns. “This is something they’re going to have to manage in Phoenix with Kevin Durant. You’ve seen it before — and it reminds you, it’s a stark reminder — of how short of a window and how this team has to win big, and they have to win big quickly based on how it was constructed. Having Kevin Durant still playing at an all-NBA level and a healthy Kevin Durant — there’s a lot at stake for this organization, it has to change soon.”