Kevin Durant says he ‘didn’t ask for a trade from Phoenix,’ points to front office

Kevin Durant turned the attention to Phoenix’s front office amid rumors the Suns forward could be traded during the summer.

Durant has maintained that he loves Phoenix and said during an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews that aired Tuesday that he never asked out of Phoenix or to be traded in the first place.

“You gotta ask the front office about that,” Durant told Andrews. “I mean I never planned on leaving or moving or getting traded. I didn’t ask for a trade from Phoenix.”

KD on possibly being moved this summer:

“You gotta ask the front office about that. I didn’t ask for a trade from Phoenix” pic.twitter.com/KZC2nqM7eO

— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) February 18, 2025

Durant’s comments come after the Suns attempted to trade Durant prior to the trade deadline, which reportedly frustrated Durant. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Durant grew upset about not being clued into the fact that those talks were happening, Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective podcast.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro originally reported it was “definitely a possibility” the Suns trade Durant and get back Jimmy Butler at the deadline but the Warriors turned their attention to Butler after Gambadoro reported before the deadline that Durant said he loves Phoenix and does not want to be traded at all.

The Warriors eventually acquired Butler in a trade after Durant said he did not want to play for Golden State, Gambadoro also reported.

Kevin Durant acknowledges Suns’ shortfalls

The Suns forward admitted to Andrews that the team was falling short of expectations, given the team has the most expensive payroll in the NBA.

“But obviously when you pay so much for a team and we’re not playing up to our expectation and somebody has to go,” Durant continued.

The Suns are spending $212.2 million on payroll and another $152 million on luxury tax payments alone.

But despite the team’s expensive roster, Phoenix sits at 26-28 through 54 games and in 11th place in the Western Conference.

“You probably should check in with those guys in the front office throughout the rest of the season and see how they feel about the team,” Durant said. “I know that I’m going to try and keep bringing my best every single day and I let the higher ups focus on what’s next.”

Durant has one more season under contract beyond this year with a cap hit of $54.7 million. He was named an All-Star for the 15th time in his 17-year career. Durant is sixth in the NBA in scoring at 27.3 points per game and recently became the eighth player to reach 30,000 career points.

The 36-year-old is also seventh in the league amongst forwards this season with 1.4 blocks per game. He has missed 13 games this season due to calf, ankle and thumb injuries.

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