Kevin Durant trade rumors: Suns may not want to deal former MVP to win-now Rockets, but they should

Durant is Phoenix's best shot at retooling this roster

By Sam Quinn Jun 27, 2024 at 9:53 am ET• 6 min read

The Phoenix Suns entered last season with championship expectations. They were ultimately swept out of the first round after a 49-win regular season. Historically speaking, it is fairly rare for a team to make a jump from there to a championship in the next season. Since 1980, only six teams have won fewer than 50 games in one season, only to go on and win the championship in the next. All of them dealt with extenuating circumstances of some form or another.

The 2023 Nuggets played the prior season without Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. The 2022 Warriors played the previous season without Klay Thompson. The 2020 Lakers didn't have Anthony Davis for the 2018-19 season. The 2008 Celtics didn't have Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen one year earlier. The 1995-96 Bulls made a pretty important addition in the spring of 1995 when they signed a retired guard named Michael Jordan. The 1980 Lakers had just drafted Magic Johnson. With that in mind, the overarching sentiment is that it's possible to jump from 49 or fewer wins up to the title, but it takes some substantial agent of change.

Is such a change possible for the Suns? Well, they could potentially be healthier next season. Bradley Beal missed 29 games and Devin Booker missed 14, but the Suns were only 26-15 in games that its entire big three played in last season. That's only a 52-win pace. Mike Budenholzer could be an improvement on the bench, but he's replacing Frank Vogel, a championship coach in his own right. 

Do the Suns have a path to a major roster upgrade? It's hard to imagine they do. The Suns are restricted by the second apron and don't control any of their first-round picks until 2030. Maybe Phoenix could improve on the margins, because it's hard to imagine the Suns adding a Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan this summer.