Kevin Durant Return to Warriors Possible If Suns Agree to Trade

The Golden State Warriors could be interested in trading for Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant.

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant reacts after having his jersey pulled during action against the Golden State Warriors. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant may have played his final game with the franchise after spraining his ankle earlier this week.

With Durant on the sidelines, the Suns are facing elimination from Play-In Tournament contention in their final few games of the season.

Should he be traded this offseason, the Suns could trade him to the Golden State Warriors, the franchise he won two championships with in 2017 and 2018.

"During an appearance on The Draymond Green Show, KD intimated his decision was more about the midseason timing than the idea of a reunion itself. That opens the door for Golden State to rekindle talks with Phoenix," Bleacher Report contributor Dan Favale writes.

"Reopening that door is complicated. It gets slightly easier if the Suns still want Butler and the Warriors prefer Durant to him. That's not impossible should Golden State believe it can approximate his playmaking, rim pressure, foul-drawing and overall scoring through KD and Jonathan Kuminga. The Warriors would miss Butler's defense, but fewer redundancies between Durant and Kuminga could elevate the offense."

The trade becomes easy if the Warriors would include Butler in a deal, but he has played so well for Golden State that it wouldn't be surprising if the team barred him from any trade.

That being said, the Warriors' timeline is limited as Stephen Curry's career enters its twilight, so they may be willing to make these short-term moves.

It also doesn't make a ton of sense for the Suns to take on Butler, especially given his antics from this past season with the Miami Heat. He won't be in a winning situation in Phoenix likely, which could lead to a bad fit.

If the Suns were able to get picks, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski, that would be a strong start and that could behoove Phoenix to make a move.