Eight years after his departure, rumors about Kevin Durant’s prospective return to the Oklahoma City Thunder are circulating more than ever.

Durant has been the center of several failed initiatives in recent years. The Brooklyn Nets signed him and Kyrie Irving in 2019, but eventually traded their future and depth for James Harden. Nothing emerged from the trio.

The Phoenix Suns then completed a trade with the Nets to get Durant, reducing both their roster depth and future trade assets. When they failed to win a championship, they had limited options. They seem to have run out of team-building choices and are stalling. If the Suns want to compete for a title again, they’ll need to make a huge move, which is unlikely to work with their big three.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the Suns should move on from Durant in order to hasten a future rebuild or reload. In doing so, he argues the Suns should contact the Thunder about a possible reunion eight years after his departure, which left Oklahoma City fans disappointed.

“I think the best way out for the Suns is certainly not what Mat Ishbia wants to hear and that would be to trade Kevin Durant,” MacMahon stated in an interview with AZ Central. “There would be a lot of interest in Kevin Durant. My initial call would presumably be to his original address. I’m not sure what Oklahoma City’s interest would be, but I could tell myself he’d be a great fit there, and it wouldn’t be about the guys you get back, but the picks in that instance.

It could be a nice fit solely for basketball purposes. Durant, with his varied skill set and frame, would fit into almost any system in basketball. Still, there’s no reason to believe the Thunder would do this.

In terms of flexibility, the Thunder have more than adequate draft capital over the next half-decade, as well as cap flexibility due to their lower payroll than the NBA average. They compromise both of these by trading for Durant. These are the two main reasons Thunder general manager Sam Presti quickly hangs up the phone.

Even if the Thunder got Durant for a steal, they certainly have a nice thing going. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, the Thunder’s depth and overall talent earned them a 57-25 record and the Western Conference’s top seed. They swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round and are preparing for a second-round matchup in less than a week.

For a variety of reasons, the Thunder’s decision to go all in on a 35-year-old Durant makes little sense. They appear to have a long championship window open, and adding Durant further shortens it.

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