Report: Rockets, Heat, Timberwolves in ‘a game of chicken’ when it comes to a Kevin Durant trade

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Phoenix Suns are in conversations with three teams regarding a Kevin Durant trade: the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Any of those landing spots would seemingly give Durant a better chance to win at a high level next season than he would if he sticks around with the Suns.

However, Durant is still a member of the Suns as of Thursday, and Charania said that the Rockets, Heat and Timberwolves are currently engaged in “a game of chicken” as they vie for the two-time NBA champion’s services.

“The Suns know, if they are going to trade Durant, they clearly have a price threshold they want met,” Charania told Pat McAfee. “I had one team tell me today it’s kinda a game of chicken at this point. From the Rockets to the Heat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s literally one or two pieces away, either which way, that can get a deal done. … My understanding is they are in active conversations with those three teams specifically.”

Durant is looking to compete for a title next season for the first time in quite a while. The last time he was on a team that advanced past the second round of the playoffs was all the way back in the 2019 NBA Playoffs, when his Golden State Warriors reached the NBA Finals and lost to the Toronto Raptors. Durant actually suffered a ruptured Achilles in Game 5 of that series, and perhaps the final outcome would have been different had he avoided the injury.

The 36-year-old is far removed from his Warriors stint, however, and he didn’t even get a chance to compete in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The Suns ended up with a record of just 36-46 on the campaign and missed out on the playoffs as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.

Of the three landing spots Charania mentioned, the Timberwolves perhaps would put Durant in the best position to win another ring next season. Minnesota has made deep playoff runs in each of the last two years, as the team has reached consecutive Western Conference Finals led by guard Anthony Edwards. A playoff riser of Edwards’ caliber combined with Durant would be a handful for opposing teams to deal with in the playoffs.

Whether Durant will land with the Timberwolves, Heat or Rockets in the near future is unclear, but at the very least, it seems people should expect the 36-year-old to be playing for a team other than the Suns at the start of the 2025-26 campaign.