Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant will undergo an MRI after he was ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's game against the Houston Rockets after suffering an ankle injury in the second half, head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters following the game.

Budenholzer also noted that Durant "would not travel with the club to begin a three-game road trip, starting with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday," per ESPN.com.

Durant suffered the injury while driving to the hoop near the midway point of the third quarter, drawing a foul on the play.

Oso Ighodaro entered the game to take the free throws for Durant and subsequently made one of his two attempts from the line.

Durant had 12 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes prior to exiting. The Suns trailed 92-57 at the time of the injury.

He previously suffered a sprained left ankle during his team's 104-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 3.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported the next day that Durant was expected to miss one-to-two weeks and provided details about how the ailment occurred.

"Sprinting downcourt in transition with 4:30 left in the second quarter Tuesday, Durant drove to the basket and attempted to cut between Spurs defenders Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell. Durant stepped on Champagnie's left foot as he rose to take a shot.

"Durant immediately fell to the floor, landing flat on his back before grabbing at his left ankle. He remained on the court and made the ensuing free throws before leaving the game 22 seconds later. He returned briefly for the start of the third quarter before walking to the locker room."

For the season, Durant is averaging 26.8 points (52.7 percent from field, 44.9 percent from three), 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

Phoenix has gone 11-2 with him in the lineup. The Suns started 8-1 with KD before he suffered a calf strain on Nov. 8. Phoenix went just 1-6 without Durant before he returned on Nov. 26. The Suns then won three of their next four games before he was sidelined.

Durant is one of the game's all-time elite talents, sporting a resume that includes 14 All-Star nods, four scoring titles, two NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards.

Phoenix entered Sunday's game at 35-39, putting it one game back of the Sacramento Kings for 10th place in the Western Conference.

Devin Booker wasn't shy about addressing the Phoenix Suns' struggles throughout the 2024-25 season.

"Very frustrating," Booker told Fox Sports' Melissa Rohlin.

"Talent only gets you so far," he added. "I've been on teams with less talent that found ways to get more wins. It's just the little things. What people always say, the details of the game. Although it sounds like we should know that at this part of our careers, it's just something you need to form and develop and learn through trial and error."

Despite boasting talented offensive players including Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal alongside Booker, Phoenix currently sits at No. 10 in the Western Conference standings with a 33-37 record.

The Suns have been especially inconsistent as of late, finishing 8-12 over their past 20 games. Issues with showing up on both sides of the ball are rampant in Phoenix, ranking No. 26 in defensive rating on the season (via NBA.com).

Durant and Beal have also been hampered by injuries once again, combining to miss 35 games.

The Suns explored deals involving Durant prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Per Charania, the 15-time All-Star was "blindsided" by his name appearing in talks with opposing front offices.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst later reported that "conditions in Phoenix have only deteriorated" since Durant was discussed in potential trades.

The Suns also reportedly attempted to move Beal, but he wasn't willing to waive his no-trade clause for multiple potential suitors.

While Phoenix hasn't met expectations as a team, Booker is in the midst of another strong individual season. In 64 starts, he's averaged 25.9 points to go along with a career-high 7.0 assists per game on 45.8/35.0/89.6 shooting splits.

He also doesn't appear to be considering a change of scenery.

"We were at the bottom of the league," Booker said, via Rohlin. "So, it's something that I've seen can turn around. I've seen it be fixed before. So, that's the motivation. Just do that again."

The four-time All-Star hasn't been satisfied with the Suns' 2024-25 campaign, but he's also committed to remaining a member of the organization.

As the Phoenix Suns attempt to chase down the Dallas Mavericks for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, they will be without one of their key players for at least one week.

Phoenix head coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters Monday that Bradley Beal will be reevaluated in a week after leaving Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with a hamstring injury.

The guard played just 15 minutes prior to exiting and finished with four points and two rebounds on 2-of-6 shooting from the field.

It has been an up-and-down season for Beal, who was included in plenty of trade speculation prior to the February deadline. However, the Suns ultimately did not move him and largely kept the core of their team intact ahead of the stretch run.

While Beal has solid numbers at 17.3 points, 3.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds a night, that would mark the lowest scoring total for a season since he was with the Washington Wizards during the 2015-16 campaign.

The Suns have also never found a rhythm this season and sit at 31-37 and 1.5 games behind the Mavericks for the No. 10 seed. Many likely assumed Phoenix would catch Dallas since Luka Dončić is now on the Lakers, Kyrie Irving is out for the season and Anthony Davis is sidelined with an injury, but that might require more consistent play from the pursuers.

Beal's absence will make finding that consistent play all the more difficult.

Look for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to continue carrying the offense, while Ryan Dunn, Royce O'Neale and Cody Martin will likely be in line for more playing time. 

The Suns play three games at home this week against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. They also face the Milwaukee Bucks in a week next Monday, which might be when Beal returns to the floor depending on his reevaluation.

In the wake of a disappointing season in which they are spending an NBA-high $366.6 million in payroll and luxury tax, the Phoenix Suns are not preparing to completely tear down their roster this offseason.

Suns governor Mat Ishbia told ESPN's Tim MacMahon that a Devin Booker trade will "never happen" amid rumors that the Houston Rockets could pursue the four-time All-Star.

"It's silly," Ishbia added. "So here's what I'll tell you: I have Devin Booker in the prime. In order to win an NBA championship, you got to have a superstar. You got to have a great player."

MacMahon noted the Rockets have "repeatedly expressed" interest in Booker.

Despite having a wealth of young talent and plenty of extra draft picks to spare, the Rockets didn't act aggressively prior to the trade deadline.

SI.com's Chris Mannix reported on Feb. 3 that the Rockets were taking a "very disciplined approach" leading up to the deadline because they didn't want to break up their core group unless it was for a star-level player.

"As one exec put it, 'Unless you are calling them about Booker, they are not interested,'" Mannix wrote.

Booker has shown no interest in wanting to leave Phoenix, where he has spent his entire NBA career since being selected with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. In fact, he told MacMahon that only playing for one franchise is something he takes very seriously:

"I mean, it's a rare breed. I take pride in the community in Phoenix, the people that have supported me since I was 18 when things were ugly. And the people that are with us, we just fell short of accomplishing what we want. So I want to do it, and I want to do it here. That's the responsibility of being a franchise player, and I wear that with honor. So it might not look the most pretty right now, but we got to get it done and I'm going to do it."

There are a lot of rumblings about the Suns' approach this summer, but most of the discussion revolves around Kevin Durant. They kicked the tires on dealing the two-time NBA Finals MVP, but a potential deal with the Golden State Warriors fell apart because he didn't want to move.

Per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Durant's camp was "upset" the Suns had trade talks involving him. Things between the two sides have gotten to the point where "it's hard to see him staying in Phoenix beyond this season," Rankin added.

Even though Durant is still a great player, it would be much easier for the Suns to justify trading him than Booker. He will turn 37 in September with just one year and $54.7 million remaining on his current contract.

Booker is going to be 29 in October and still has three years remaining on his contract after this season.

The Suns absolutely need to undergo significant changes this offseason. They're paying nearly $71 million more between payroll and luxury tax than any other team in the NBA, but their 30-36 record has them 2.5 games out of the No. 10 seed in the race for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

Whatever changes the Suns can make this summer, dealing a 28-year-old who is an established star with a stated desire to make it work with this franchise would only push them further away from contention.

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant was direct when assessing his team's 116-98 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.

"We didn't play up to our standards at all," he told reporters after the defeat. "We embarrassed the fans and we embarrassed ourselves the way we played. I want us to be better."

The game was a microcosm of Phoenix's fortunes since building its roster around the Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal triumvirate.

KD had a team-high 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Booker and Beal combined for 35 points. Altogether that's solid production from the Suns' three best players, yet they were blown out by 18 points.

The dispiriting thing for the team and its fanbase is that there's little reason to hope things will improve on the court.

Phoenix is 3-11 since the start of February. It ranks 19th in net rating (minus-2.2), per NBA.com. There's a sense of inevitability about Durant being traded in the summer.

An increasingly inescapable conclusion is that the Suns don't have another level to reach. This is a flawed roster and its stars aren't rallying together in the face of adversity.

Booker said Saturday that matchups against the Timberwolves and other contenders "should be playoff feel type games from here on out the rest of the season."

Then the Suns went out and laid an egg.

Durant thought the performance wasn't up to their usual level. Others who have watched Phoenix over the last two seasons might disagree because it was fairly characteristic of a squad that hasn't lived up to expectations.

Kevin Durant's days as a member of the Phoenix Suns are numbered, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst reported Wednesday on NBA Today that the Suns will trade Durant in the offseason "and he knows that." The NBA insider added that "everybody's intentions are crystal clear."

Windhorst was basically echoing his earlier reporting on Durant's future with the Suns after he remained in Phoenix through the trade deadline.

Appearing on the Draymond Green Show, Durant said he wants to end his career "on my terms" when asked if he wants to stay in Phoenix ahead of his eventual retirement.

Durant also explained why he didn't have a desire to move to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline, citing the "big change" he would've had to make for a handful of games midway through the season:

The 15-time All-Star will be in the last year of his contract in 2025-26. The Suns' 27-31 record raises obvious questions about how they'll continue to fare with him on the roster next season, along with whether it's worth re-signing him.

In addition, Phoenix is pretty much left with only two clear trade assets if it wants to strengthen its supporting cast now or get some draft picks to help facilitate a roster reset. Either Durant or Devin Booker has to go. It's as simple as that.

Booker would likely net a stronger return, but he's eight years younger than KD and under contract through 2027-28. The fact he has spent his entire career with the Suns is another factor because the fanbase would have a far different reaction to his departure than Durant's.

It will be tough for the Suns to recoup everything it gave up to acquire the 6'11" forward in 2023, but president of basketball operations James Jones can count on getting something back in the offseason.

Being stuck in what amounts to a loveless marriage isn't ideal for Durant or Phoenix, but having everybody on the same page as to his tenure should at least help to some degree.

The Phoenix Suns are one-and-a-half games out of the play-in tournament, and some around the NBA are not confident that they will break through.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps spoke to league executives who picked the Suns to fall short of the playoffs in the tightly contested Western Conference, pointing to their negative demeanor throughout the season.

"Phoenix, which is wild to say," a West executive told Bontemps. "They look like they can't stand being around each other."

"It feels like the wheels have fallen off," another West exec added about Phoenix's season.

The Suns fell to 27-30 after Sunday's 127-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors, who are one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference at 18-39. It was Phoenix's eighth loss in its last 10 games.

This season's performance is especially disappointing considering that the Suns entered the year with expectations to contend for a title thanks to their Big Three of veteran stars Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Each of them has missed time at various points throughout the year, creating chemistry issues that the team has been unable to overcome. Durant's future in Phoenix is also uncertain amid rumors that he's a candidate to be traded this summer.

Still, a late-season surge could be enough for the Suns to earn a postseason spot, so they should be motivated to bounce back when they return to action on Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kevin Durant was the subject of trade rumors last week as the Phoenix Suns looked to shake up their core group amidst a disappointing 26-26 season, namely in the Jimmy Butler trade talks and the reported discussions with the Golden State Warriors (which Durant seemingly nixed).

The superstar forward told reporters on Monday he didn't take any of it personally, however, calling it "part of the business."

He also said it wouldn't necessarily impact his future in Phoenix.

"I always had a goal of playing my contract out and see what happens. ... I know that will be a topic," he said. "That's probably the most frustrating part about being in trade talks is that microscope is going to be solely on me the rest of the season."

The Suns, to a certain degree, didn't have much choice but to take calls on Durant. The preference almost assuredly would have been to trade a player like Bradley Beal instead and keep the Durant and Devin Booker duo intact, but Beal's massive contract and no-trade clause made him basically impossible to move.

And the Suns were never going to entertain offers for Booker, the face of the franchise. So if the organization was going to make a foundational change and shake things up, it was going to require departing with Durant.

The Suns thought better of doing so, of course, and Durant framed the entire situation as a mark of respect.

"It's not a bad thing that people around the league want me to play for them," he told reporters. "It's not a bad thing my organization here is fighting off people to keep me on a team or even dangle me in a trade. Part of being in high demand."

The Suns ultimately decided to trade Jusuf Nurkić and a 2026 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micić and a 2026 second-rounder instead. It wasn't the sort of franchise-altering move they had been discussing, but it provided change to a team in desperate need of some.

Still, the Suns need to figure out how to make the trio of Booker, Durant and Beal work. Barring more trade talks involving Durant come the summer—or the Suns somehow finding a way to move Beal—it's a core group the team is stuck with until at least the summer of 2026, when Durant will hit free agency.

While Kevin Durant reportedly wasn't interested in a return to the Golden State Warriors, a move to Miami wasn't off the table.

Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that while Durant told the Phoenix Suns he "had no desire" to return to Golden State, he was "open" to being traded to the Heat and that Miami considered pivoting to an entirely different move before Thursday's trade deadline.

"Durant, however, would have been open to playing for the Heat, sources said, so Miami debated cutting the Warriors out completely and dealing Butler to Phoenix for Durant, sources said," Windhorst and Shelburne wrote.

A Warriors source told Windhorst and Shelburne that Durant likely didn't want to return due to "the same reasons he left" and that Golden State would have "been a f--ing circus."

Durant is under contract with the Suns through the 2025-26 season. Windhorst previously reported that there was a "level of concern" about Durant's future and that caused some thoughts of making a deal at the deadline.

He is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 39 games for the Suns, which sit ninth in the Western Conference at 25-25. Durant will remain the centerpiece of the team's playoff hopes but a trade would have represented at least a partial reset for the franchise by bringing a player like Butler in.

Instead, Butler will attempt to help Stephen Curry and company grab a playoff birth, while Durant and the Suns will hope to keep their pace above Golden State in the West standings. Miami, meanwhile, will look to Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson fill the hole left by Butler.