Does Kevin Durant have a lot of trade value at this point in his NBA career? Most fans will agree that Durant is an elite NBA superstar and one of the greatest scorers in the history of the league. Throughout his career, Durant has played for and excelled with several teams and is currently with the Phoenix Suns.
Although there is no denying that adding Durant to an NBA roster drastically improves a team, former NBA star Rudy Gay pointed out that it might not be in the best interests of many teams to decide to bring Durant over.
Rudy Gay Believes Teams Should Not Give Up Assets for Kevin Durant
Durant’s name was heavily involved in trade rumors ahead of the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline. After all, the Suns are well into the luxury tax due their superstars’ hefty contracts but are struggling to stay afloat in the regular season (27-31, 11th in the West).
As a result, it might make sense for the Suns to move on from Durant. Since he is a two-time NBA champion and rare basketball talent, one might assume that teams should be willing to give up a lot to add him on. However, Gay opined that it would be in the best interest of most teams to avoid making this trade.
“But we are talking about Kevin Durant, the Hall Of Famer, and also the 37-year-old Kevin Durant. So any team that is going to make a decision to try to move him and take him on is going to have to give up a lot because of what he’s done. Now, I personally don’t see too many teams willing to do that.”
"Any team that is going to make a decision to try to move him and take [Kevin Durant] on is going to have to give up a lot… I personally don't see too many teams willing to do that… this is a young man's league now."
—Rudy Gay
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/vWWWPvjES5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 27, 2025
Gay continued, saying, “I know him personally. He’s been one of the hardest people for me to ever guard, but I do also think that at this point there are only a certain amount of teams that will take him on. … You know this is a young man’s league now, and you got to move a lot of people for that guy.”
There is no denying that the former NBA star is making a valid point. Durant is clearly in the back end of his career and it would be unwise to give up a large chest of assets for him. While there are certainly a few teams that would consider making a trade for Durant, Gay believes that the majority of the league will hesitate to commit to him.
