"Kind Of Upsetting": Kevin Durant Opens Up On Parting Ways With Phoenix Suns

Among all the transactions that went down in the 2025 offseason, none had a bigger impact than Kevin Durant being shipped to the Houston Rockets. While all eyes will be on the extremely high ceiling of the new-look Rockets this year, the story of how Durant parted ways with his old team is nevertheless compelling.

Speaking at CNBC’s “Game Plan” event on Tuesday, the two-time NBA champion looked back at the tail end of his stint with the Phoenix Suns. Interestingly, Durant addressed the rumors that the Suns were looking to deal him prior to the trade deadline earlier this year.

“Around February, the Suns had pretty much let the league know that I was on the market,” Durant said. “Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship…to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that’s just the name of the game.”

Admitting that he was able to recover “quickly” from the surprise of the trade chatter, Durant then started thinking about his next steps, even acknowledging the interest shown by one of his former teams. Apparently, Durant was not interested, and his agent helped ensure that he wouldn’t be heading there.

“I heard Golden State was in the mix around the trade deadline, but that’s where Rich came into play…he was able to tell them to hold off on that,” KD added.

Durant went on to play till the end of March, when he sustained a left ankle sprain that ended up sidelining him for the rest of the season. Ironically, the team that he played against on March 30 was the same ball club that ended up acquiring his services this summer.

“We knew we would revisit [the situation] right around the summer time, and Houston kind of jumped on. It happened pretty fast from there,” Durant recalled.

From the looks of it, the former NBA MVP has put his past in the Valley behind him. Now, the NBA community is eagerly anticipating the new heights that Durant and his loaded Rockets squad will reach.