Fun With Trade Rumors: Kevin Durant to the Suns?

You gotta love when GM’s recklessly trade away first round draft picks. It’s how the Bulls got Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas and how the Pistons got Darko (whoops). Trading first round picks is especially ill-advised when you’re the Atlanta Hawks, but that’s exactly what they did two summers ago. In exchange for Joe Johnson (who, to be fair, does rock), the Hawks gave the Suns a boatload of goodies which included two first round picks and Boris Diaw (who the Hawks tried to make a point guard! I hate exclamation points, but come on, that deserves one).

The Suns get the first of those draft picks this year in one of the most loaded classes of all time. And with the Hawks once again bringing up the rear in the Eastern Conference, there is a good chance the Suns, who are already the most talented team in the NBA, could add another stud to the mix. The problem is this year’s pick is top 3 protected, meaning if the Hawks are one of the first three teams to choose, they get to keep their selection. On an ESPN podcast yesterday, Bill Simmons and Chad Ford raised an interesting scenario: there is a very good chance the Suns could choose fourth in this draft, and if that’s the case, would they try and move up to get Kevin Durant?

The Suns have the talent to make such a trade possible, and adding Durant in with Nash and Stoudemire could make them one of the most unstoppable offensive forces the NBA has ever seen. And to a team like Boston, Milwaukee or Memphis, a deal from the Suns could be almost impossible to refuse. For the chance to move up two picks (most people are finally agreeing Oden will go first), the Suns could offer the fourth pick, Shawn Marion, Atlanta’s unprotected first rounder in 2008, and either Leandro Barbosa, Diaw, or Raja Bell. How could anybody possibly turn that down? Imagine adding Marion, Barbosa, and Al Horford to Boston or Milwaukee. They’d be one the three best teams in the East right away.

The best part of this is that it could actually happen. If you’re the Suns, why not? They’ve already flirted with the idea of moving Marion before, and they could afford to lose one of the Barbosa, Bell, Diaw group and still be awesome, especially if they’re adding Durant. Durant is tailor-made for that system, and with Stevie Franchise and Stoudemire still in place, the Suns could have a historically great team, with two of their three best players being 6’10 and only 19 and 24 years old respectively. They’d dominate for the next decade.

Phoenix is the second seed (54-18) in the Western Conference right now but has struggled recently, only going 6-4 over their last 10 games. The consensus seems to be that the West will be decided between Dallas and San Antonio. If Phoenix fails again to advance to the NBA Finals- this is their third season with Nash- it would have to be a considered disappointment, and might make management even more willing to part with someone like Marion.