Report: Kevin Durant Wanted Suns To Trade Him To Celtics Or Knicks At February NBA Trade Deadline

According to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, Kevin Durant wanted the Phoenix Suns to trade him to the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks at the February NBA trade deadline.

Neither New York nor Boston traded for Durant, who will be traded by Phoenix soon. 

“There were rumblings at the trade deadline KD wanted to land with the Celtics or Knicks,” O’Connor wrote. “New York’s interest reportedly isn’t mutual anymore. Boston’s cap sheet and trajectory make that scenario highly unlikely.”

The Celtics lost to the Knicks in the second round of this year’s playoffs in six games. Jayson Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 4. He could miss all of next season. Boston has to make trades this offseason to avoid having the most expensive roster in the NBA in 2025-26. 

Meanwhile, the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals in six games. Tom Thibodeau was fired as head coach despite leading New York to the conference finals for the first time since 2000. 

Durant nearly signed with the Knicks in 2019. He and Kyrie Irving wound up joining the Brooklyn Nets in free agency. 

The eighth leading scorer of all time, Durant won back-to-back championships and Finals MVPs with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. He tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Warriors and Toronto Raptors in Canada and missed the entire 2019-20 season with Brooklyn. 

Durant is still one of the best scorers in the NBA. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Suns this season in 62 games while shooting 52.7% from the field, 43.0% from beyond the arc and 83.9% from the free-throw line.

The Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are the three teams Durant prefers to play for next, with the Spurs at the top of his list. 

The Suns, though, can trade Durant anywhere since KD doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract.