Jimmy Butler, you are a Phoenix Sun. That is if Kevin Durant gets what he reportedly wants.
The source of Durant’s desires is questionable, so take it with a grain of salt, but former NBA player turned analyst Kendrick Perkins thinks the Suns are aiming to trade for Butler and it has everything to do with Durant.
“From my sources, they’re telling me that the Suns have a two-year, $121 million extension waiting on Jimmy. … It’s about relationships, and the relationship is Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant,” Perkins said on the Road Trippin’ podcast.
“Phoenix, yes, the organization, they want him. You know why? Because Kevin Durant wants Jimmy Butler.”
— Kendrick Perkins on Road Trippin’
Let’s assume for a second Perkins has inside information and Durant actually is pushing for a Butler trade, that should shade this potential move with a giant shadow of doubt. Because nothing Durant has reportedly wanted over the years has worked.
Nevermind the Butler dynamic, with his potential contract demands and perpetual discontent. This has disaster written all over it based on Durant’s track record. He hasn’t been past the second round of the playoffs since leaving Golden State to team up with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn.
That was the first time we heard about Durant having a say in his running mates, when he and Irving took less money so the Nets could also sign DeAndre Jordan. The next season, they gave up three first-round picks and Jarrett Allen to bring in Durant’s former OKC teammate, James Harden. When that experiment began to fail, Durant reportedly had Phoenix as a preferred destination and again got what he wanted at the expense of his new team’s young assets.
Since that first year in Brooklyn, Durant’s teams have been swept in the first round of the playoffs as many times as he’s made it to the second round (twice). That includes last year’s sweep against Minnesota in Phoenix’s first season with Bradley Beal, who Durant admitted himself he pushed for. Now, Beal would almost certainly have to be involved in any trade for Butler to make the money work.
Look, I get it. What the Suns are doing now isn’t good enough. They’re 16-19 and 12th in the Western Conference. They have to do something, and Butler is a great player. On paper, he should help them. But if Durant helped get Phoenix in this mess, why should he be trusted to get them out of it? That’s what Perkins’ report is insinuating. That Durant is still pulling the strings on major moves. Whether that ends up being Butler or something else, it’s hard to trust it’ll turn out well for the Suns.
