It appears the Warriors came close to acquiring Kevin Durant in a stunning, blockbuster move. Again.
Golden State reportedly pursued a trade with the Phoenix Suns for Durant in recent days leading up to Thursday's NBA trade deadline before talks fell apart after the 36-year-old reportedly communicated his desire not to return to the Warriors, which ended the discussions and led to Golden State pivoting and reportedly acquiring Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler on Wednesday.
The Warriors not only discussed a trade with the Suns, but they had a three-team deal involving Phoenix and the Miami Heat in place before Durant made it known he did not want a reunion in Golden State, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Thursday on "Get Up."
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"This was close to being Jimmy Butler in Phoenix and Kevin Durant in Golden State." 😯
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 6, 2025
—@WindhorstESPN on Jimmy Butler being traded to Golden State pic.twitter.com/wOXJcSuJBA
"There was a trade, sort of in place, between Golden State, Phoenix and Miami that would have returned Kevin Durant to Golden State, but Durant stepped up and made it known he did not want a reunion," Windhorst said. "And once that deal fell apart, Golden State pivoted and tried to get Jimmy Butler."
Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers, now an analyst with ESPN, revealed Thursday on "NBA Today" that he recently spoke with Durant weeks before the deadline chatter picked up, and was told by the star forward that he did not want to leave Phoenix.
"So I saw Kevin at a football game a few weeks ago, and I asked him, before all this, I said 'Hey, are you good? Are you happy?' And he said to my face, "I don't want to go anywhere, I don't want to be traded' and I believe it," Myers shared. "I believe he has felt that way all along, but when you hear your name being mentioned, for him, I think it was a shock, he was kind of like I didn't push for this, I didn't ask for this.
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"And then to hear all the people speculating on the Warriors, I actually think the Warriors did the right thing by honoring Kevin's request."
Durant does not have a no-trade clause in his contract, which means he cannot officially nix a trade to another team. The Warriors, however, in Myers' opinion, did right by their former player and did not trade for him after he communicated he was not interested in a return, something Myers also would have honored because of Durant's contributions to the franchise.
"Kevin could have gone anywhere in 2016, any team he wanted to go to," Myers continued. "He went to the Warriors, and he's the only person in that equation that took criticism for it. I didn't, Joe Lacob didn't. Steve Kerr didn't. Steph Curry didn't. Draymond Green didn't. Only Kevin was the one that faced scrutiny.
"So whatever Kevin would want, had I still been with the Warriors, Kevin would get. He brought two championships, tried for a third, ended up getting hurt in that pursuit, two Finals MVPs. So I like that the Warriors said 'We hear you, we wanted you, we respect that you don't want to be here. That's fine.'"
Durant will have a lasting legacy with the Warriors, and there's no doubt the future Hall of Famer cherishes his accomplishments with Golden State. However, a reunion just wasn't in the cards, and the Warriors respected that.