Early on after Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, the Phoenix Suns quickly emerged as the favorites to acquire him. The Suns were one of the two NBA teams, along with the Miami Heat, that were reportedly on Durant’s preferred landing spots list.

The Suns fell just short of winning a title in 2021, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games after winning the first two games of the series. 2022 was a disappointment as they were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.

Looking to get over the hump and win a championship, it made sense that Phoenix was interested in acquiring Durant. Interesting him in the lineup alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker could have easily made them favorites to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy next season.

However, the Suns have seemingly fallen behind other teams in the race to acquire Durant from the Nets. Their path to acquire him has gotten much more difficult as the offseason has worn on as their original proposals were built around Deandre Ayton, who cannot be traded until January 15th after the Suns matched the offer sheet that he agreed to with the Indiana Pacers. Shams Charania of The Athletic provided the update.

The Phoenix Suns similarly have dangled a package around All-Defensive wing Mikal Bridges and a handful of first-round draft picks, which has not picked up any steam with the Nets, league sources said. With Deandre Ayton signed to a four-year maximum contract and unable to be moved until January, Phoenix has attempted over the past month to make creative proposals to Brooklyn, possibly via three- or four-team trades where an All-Star-caliber player goes to the Nets. But the Suns have yet to find a suitable deal — and that is largely why they appear to be behind Boston, Toronto and Miami in the Durant sweepstakes.

While Mikal Bridges is a very good player in his own right, he likely isn’t enough to be the centerpiece of a deal to acquire Durant. That is why the Suns are attempting to get creative and include a third or fourth team because their offers just don’t stack up.

The Boston Celtics making Jaylen Brown available is likely the top package right now as he is the best player being mentioned in any proposals. The Heat can offer Tyler Herro, who depending on the people asked, could have more value than Bridges. The Toronto Raptors can offer strong proposals even without Scottie Barnes Jr. being a part of them.

Finalizing deals with just two teams involved is hard enough. Doing that with three or four teams could be downright impossible, especially with so many other suitors emerging. Phoenix will keep trying to land Durant but they are certainly behind the eight ball and falling behind the other teams in the race for Durant.

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