The Phoenix Suns may have exchanged Kevin Durant this season to the Houston Rockets – but if you go back your mind to the deadline then whisper from the 36 -year -old – the rockets were not the front runners. Instead, it was the Golden State Warriors who were on the row of chairs to be reunited with the player with whom they won a few championships.
Eventually they chose to go for Jimmy Butler, and their postseason performances have somewhat justified that decision. The Warriors are getting older – but with Butler next to Stephen Curry and Drayond Green – are always a tough in a series. There were several theories why Durant did not go back to San Francisco, and the player himself has now confirmed why that was.
Durant Veto has on the deal to return to the Warriors.
Durant was a recent guest at the Game Plan Business Summit – and during its appearance there – opened from the valley on his final departure. The future Hall of Famer said he “was upset because I had the feeling that we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns.” Another negative figure against Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia after a rocky summer.
Kevin Durant confirms that last season he personally blocked a transaction for the Warriors per @RealGM @Legionhoops
KD did not want to come back to the bay 😵way pic.twitter.com/ouhv4qsz8r
– Sleeperwarriors (@sleporerwarriors) September 21, 2025
Later in the appearance, Durant would confirm that thanks to his existing relationship with the Warriors – and by his agent Rich Kleiman – that they could get the Warriors “to keep it a bit (acting for him)”. If you ever doubted the power of superstars in this competition, read that sentence back.
But while the suns were desperate to add butler to raise their heads at that time again, Durant made them a pleasure in waiting and instead go on the rockets. Yes, they would have stayed in Win Now -mode around Devin Booker, but that might have meant that Bradley Beal was not buying out and accepting that a rebuild was needed.
It is not like what they got from Houston for Durant, also a great package, but they have made their selection around Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and a trio of first round picks in Kaman Maluach, Koby Breea and Rasheer Fleming. The hope is now that boys of the second year as Ryan Dunn can also make a leap for the organization to speed up this process.
So although this may have been a happy ending for the Suns, the fact that they seem to have durant have irritated and then let him close a course for the Warriors – which would have led them to sag the player they wanted in Butler – not a good appearance. However, it did change change – and after two plus years of under -performance with durant and booker – this can only be considered a positive one.
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