While the Golden State Warriors were the team perhaps most prominently in the mix for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, another team reportedly made a late offer for him at the trade deadline.
Per NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Minnesota Timberwolves "made a last-ditch effort" to trade for Durant ahead of Thursday's deadline, but the deal ultimately didn't materialize.
It's unclear what package the Timberwolves offered the Suns for Durant, but it's fair to assume they wouldn't have included young star Anthony Edwards. Minnesota has a handful of draft picks and some pieces on its roster at its disposal, but whatever the Wolves offered the Suns wasn't enough.
Phoenix appeared ready to make a splash at the deadline by either trading Durant or landing a star like Jimmy Butler, but it ended up being a relatively quiet day. The only move the Suns made on Thursday was a deal that sent Jusuf Nurkić and a 2026 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets in return for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micić and a 2026 second-round pick.
The Timberwolves had an even quieter deadline with no trades.
Durant received plenty of attention at this year's deadline. The Warriors pursued their former star, but he was reportedly "cold to the idea" of returning to Golden State, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Sam Amick.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on NBA Today Thursday that after the Warriors' pursuit of Durant ended, other teams began "making really aggressive calls to the Suns" about Durant.
One such team was the Dallas Mavericks, who SNY's Ian Begley reported were "very aggressive" in trying to find a trade for Durant.
Ultimately, Durant will remain in Phoenix for now and the Suns will try to turn things around after a rough start to the year. Phoenix is currently in 10th place in the Western Conference at 25-25. The Timberwolves haven't fared much better, sitting in seventh place in the West at 28-23.
Both teams will try to regroup and come back stronger in the second half of the season despite a lack of significant moves at this year's trade deadline.
Read 0 Comments
Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation