SUMMARY
- Kevin Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns midway through last season.
- Reports reveal that the Suns were initially interested in Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
It might shock fans to hear that the Phoenix Suns did not consider Kevin Durant a top priority to trade for last season. As many members of the basketball community might be aware, KD is widely acknowledged as one of the best scorers of this generation. He managed to win 2 NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors before taking his talents to the Brooklyn Nets.
Durant left the Nets within a few years of joining the team due to the conflicts that existed between the management and players. Brooklyn decided to trade him to the Phoenix Suns and this is currently his second season with the Suns.
While one might expect that the Suns were desperate to bring Durant onto their roster at any cost, recent reports reveal that he was not their initial choice.
The Phoenix Suns tried to trade for Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby
The Suns managed to make it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2021 and clearly had enough talent and firepower on their roster to seriously contend for an NBA title. Therefore, the team was initially interested in acquiring Pascal Siakam and OG Anunboy from the Toronto Raptors.
Report: Suns tried to trade for O.G. Anunoby or Pascal Siakam before Kevin Durant deal https://t.co/nTtDcOUg3q
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 5, 2024
Perhaps that trade might have helped the Suns quite a lot. After all, Siakam and OG are much better defenders when compared to Durant and do not have a high ball usage rate. They were also NBA champions after having helped Kawhi Leonard win a title back in 2019.
It is unclear whether the Suns made any official offer and why the Raptors declined at the time. After all, both Siakam and OG are no longer with the Raptors and have been traded this season. In any case, one could argue that this report is an indirect shot in KD’s direction.
Can Kevin Durant lead the Suns to a championship this season?
Although there is no way of knowing what the Suns would have been able to accomplish with OG and Siakam on their roster, the team has made several changes in order to contend for a title. They traded away Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul and brought on Jusuf Nurkic and Bradley Beal.
The combination of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal gives the Suns a big 3 and more than enough talent and experience to win a coveted NBA championship. While injuries hampered the amount of time the 3 stars have had on the court together, they have been consistent and healthy as of late.