Kevin Durant Trade: Suns adds former MVP for Bridges, Johnson, Crowder and four first-round picks, per report

The Phoenix Suns strike a deal to bring 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets The Athlete’s Shams Charania. The Suns will send Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap to Brooklyn for Durant and TJ Warren. Durant had previously asked for a trade in the offseason, but at the time the Nets couldn’t find a deal for him. He eventually agreed to rejoin the team. The Suns were Durant’s preferred target at this point.

For most of the season, that kind of trade seemed unthinkable. The Nets looked like championship contenders after a rocky start, going 18-2 in Durant’s last 20 healthy games. Phoenix, on the other hand, hovered around the .500 for most of the season while dealing with injuries to Chris Paul and Devin Booker. They’ve righted the ship in recent games, however, while Brooklyn has gone the other way.

Kyrie Irving requested a trade after talks to extend his contract with the Nets collapsed last week. His wish was quickly granted and sent to the Dallas Mavericks. This seems to have started negotiations between the Nets and Suns. Without Irving, Brooklyn was probably out of the championship race. That forced her to reconsider the deal with Durant, and Phoenix came in to cut a deal.

Now the Suns have one of the most explosive scoring duos in the league in Booker and Durant. Chris Paul continues to serve as floor general, and the Suns still have Deandre Ayton serving as center and defensive anchor. Regaining Warren, who started his career with the Suns, gives them some forward depth to replace what they lost in the trade, and the Suns will likely be among the most desirable targets in the buyout market.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, enters a period of great uncertainty. In less than a year they have now traded Durant, Irving and James Harden. Houston controls their first-round picks for the next five years. Despite having some veteran talent, Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton are the only youngsters with a clear advantage. Sean Marks rebuilt this team under far worse circumstances. The Nets overcame sending Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to Boston. Now he must rebuild them, but this time with the knowledge of what went wrong with his first super team. Now Phoenix is ​​the super team, and unless someone makes a big trade to compete with them before Thursday’s deadline, the Suns look set to be the new favorites in the Western Conference.