Grading the Kevin Durant Trade

Just hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, an alert buzzed on the phones of millions worldwide: Kevin Durant has been traded. It did not come as a surprise to many, as there was already a mutual interest in moving on. With the final deal, it officially closes the chapter of the Beal, Booker, Durant era. I think this is going to be remembered as one of the worst moves in Suns history, and in some ways, the end of getting superstar players to carry lackluster teams.

Suns: A

While the decision to trade core players from a team that had just made the Finals the year before might seem like an easy F, this trade is different. The haul back might not be on par with a player of Durant’s quality, but the context matters. First, he is 36. Very few players remain elite at that age, and if he had suffered another Achilles tear like he did in Golden State, the damage to the franchise would have been even worse. Second, he was clearly leaving. As charming as Phoenix is, why would Durant spend the final years of his Hall of Fame career on a bad team stuck in the desert without a path to contention? With free agency looming next summer, he was walking out the door anyway, so getting anything back was a win.

Rockets: B–

The more I look at it, the more I don’t love this move for Houston. They were already on a great trajectory, and I would have preferred to see them continue developing their young players to find out who the true stars were. For a player who was going to be a free agent in a year, why rush the timeline? For this trade to be a success, Durant has to win a championship or at least make multiple deep playoff runs. Yes, he will sell tickets and get them some primetime games, but Houston has now added immense pressure and a shortened window to a team that was thriving by playing it slow. They also didn’t trade away benchwarmers. They gave up a 23-year-old averaging 21 points per game, a quality defender, and the 10th overall pick that turned into Khaman Maluach, the superstar center out of Duke.

Kevin Durant: A–

From Durant’s perspective, there is not a whole lot to analyze. This move does not really change his legacy. He was never getting a statue in Phoenix, his Hall of Fame spot is already locked, and he is not chasing individual records at this stage of his career. What it does do is give him a chance to reset. Houston is not a bad city to be an NBA star in; he saves some tax money, and he gets another shot at a ring. It was the right time to move on, and overall, this is a solid move for him, even if it will not drastically shift how history views his career.