It appears that a reunion between Kevin Durant and the Warriors is not in the cards.
Golden State reportedly was one of multiple teams who have discussed a potential trade with the Phoenix Suns for the 14-time NBA All-Star leading up to Thursday's trade deadline, and while there did appear to be some momentum building toward a potential deal, ESPN's Shams Charania poured cold water on many Warriors fans' hope of a reunion in an appearance on Wednesday's episode of "NBA Today."
As Golden State pursues Phoenix's Kevin Durant, the two-time Warriors NBA Finals MVP has no desire in a reunion and does not want to go back. Reporting for NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/tNeTzw2gCf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2025
"The Warriors have been seriously pursuing Kevin Durant over the last week, but sources tell me that Durant has no desire in a reunion with the Warriors," Charania said. "He does not want to go back to the Warriors where he won two championships, won two Finals MVPs ... It's unclear where these talks go between now and tomorrow's deadline, but one thing is clear around the league right now, and that's Kevin Durant does not want to go back to the Warriors in any trade.
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"And so, for the Warriors, do they continue this pursuit of Kevin Durant? Do they move on to a guy like Jimmy Butler, who we've been discussing over the last couple of months. Is Chicago's Nikola Vučević a target as well? We'll know in the next 24 hours."
ESPN's Brian Windhorst also chimed in on the discussion, reporting that there was a potential three-team trade between Golden State, Phoenix and Miami in the works that would have sent Durant to the Warriors and Butler to the Suns and pointed out that the deal technically still could happen since Durant does not have a no-trade clause.
"Over the last day or two there's been some negotiations going on on a three-team maneuver between Miami, Golden State and Phoenix that would have included Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant," Windhorst added. "I know what Shams said is correct, but I don't know if that precludes Phoenix from still going ahead and trading him. He doesn't have a no-trade clause, they could, in theory, still trade him. They could, in theory, hold him and also hold Bradley Beal and just move on with the season, although their team is .500, not performing well."
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Andscape's Marc J. Spears, who also sat on Wednesday's "NBA Today" panel, revealed that he recently spoke with Durant after trade rumors began to swirl and received a pretty clear indicator the 36-year-old was not interested in a reunion.
"I was told that a couple days ago, when Kevin heard about this Warriors rumbling, he was like 'What? No, I don't want to go back there' and was pretty adamant," Spears shared. "He approached the Suns to get some clarity on it and 'Can you work with me to find a place somewhere else?' From what I hear right now, I just got a text that it's dead ... like [the Warriors] are moving on it sounds like."
The Warriors have less than 24 hours to make a move before Thursday's noon deadline, and while Phoenix technically does not need Durant to sign off on a move, it's become abundantly clear he is not interested in returning to the Bay Area.
