Kevin Durant Suitor Named Favorite to Land Russell Westbrook in Offseason originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Phoenix Suns are in the midst of a pivotal offseason. The Suns missed the NBA Playoffs this season after being swept out of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves a year ago. Instead of improving, the Suns went in the other direction, finishing 36-46 and as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.
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The Suns have already begun making significant changes, starting with the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer and replacing him with Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott. They also made a substantial change in the front office, moving James Jones into a senior advisory role and installing Brian Gregory as the new general manager.
Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook (4) moves the ball up court against the Clippers.Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Kevin Durant suitor named favorite to land Russell Westbrook
With the general manager position taken care of, Gregory will likely work closely with owner and friend Mat Ishbia to determine the best course of action regarding a potential Kevin Durant trade. They’ll likely use the recent trade of guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic as a starting point.
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It’s been rumored that one of the teams that Durant could go to is the Miami Heat. His former teammate, Russell Westbrook, recently declined his $3.4 million player option with the Nuggets for next season, becoming a free agent.
There could be a possible reunion brewing in South Beach, as the Miami Heat are the favorites to land Westbrook. Bovada Sportsbook has the Miami Heat at +260, an implied probability of 27.78%, with the Dallas Mavericks close behind at +325 and the Sacramento Kings at +500.
It would be incredibly ironic to see the two as teammates with the Heat, considering they lost to Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals when the two were members of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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All eyes will be on the Suns in the coming days, anxiously awaiting the shoe to drop and hear where Durant is headed. With the NBA Draft less than two weeks away, it’s likely a deal will be done sooner rather than later.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
