Suns GM Reveals Reason For Kevin Durant Trade to Rockets originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Phoenix Suns kicked off the NBA offseason with a bang as they made a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets.

Of course, that trade involved them sending superstar forward Kevin Durant to Houston in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, five second-round picks and the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Phoenix then used the 10th pick to select Khaman Maluach out of Duke to upgrade their frontcourt and they also added a young player in Green and a veteran in Brooks to bolster their lineup.

This decision was a massive one by the Suns, but one that was expected after they missed the playoffs last season and took offers for Durant during the trade deadline.

On Monday, Suns general manager Brian Gregory revealed why Phoenix ultimately decided to trade Durant.

“We were in contact with Kevin and his team the whole time. The No. 1 goal is to find a way to bring in the valuable pieces that would help us continue to move forward in the right direction,” Gregory said.

I asked Brian Gregory about timing of trading for Mark Williams and then drafting Khaman Maluach: “We were very poor protecting the rim last year. Now you should be able to have a full game where there’s protection of the rim….To get both those guys, we weren’t passing that up” pic.twitter.com/U2IcUFho4T

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) July 8, 2025

It is clear that the Suns and Durant were heading opposite ways and with Phoenix wanting to retool their roster around Devin Booker, they felt that the Rockets’ offer was the best for them to become a contender once again.

Despite this, Green’s fit next to Booker in the backcourt is an interesting one but one that could end up playing out in Phoenix’s favor.

The Suns also added a veteran leader and defensive-minded forward in Brooks who has played key role on every team he has been on, especially in the locker room.

Adding Maluach was also a massive addition due to Phoenix’s struggles in the frontcourt last season.

With Durant now gone, the Suns are trying to turn their franchise around and there may be more moves that take place this offseason as they try to return to being a title contending franchise.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.