NBA – «The Spurs should trade for him rather than for Kevin Durant»

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

If San Antonio has the opportunity to sign Kevin Durant this summer, perhaps the Texans should think twice about it. That’s the advice of one American analyst, who has offered them another lead to follow in the trade market.

The Spurs have no shortage of options this summer. With a solid draft foundation and plenty of assets to leverage in trade negotiations, the franchise is well-positioned to land a superstar on the market. And there are several who will be available, like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant.

The latter is also expected to land in Texas within a few weeks, as his compatibility with Victor Wembanyama seems obvious. But is this really a good idea when the Slim Reaper is close to retirement? That’s why analyst Bill Simmons suggested an alternative in his podcast:

Another candidate suggested for the Spurs

(Trey Murphy)’s the guy I think the Spurs should get. If I was Spurs consigliere, like, are we getting Durant? He’s 37. Let’s give up some of the same stuff we were going to give up for Durant, throw some more picks in it, and actually try to get Murphy, who you know is hitting his mid-20s.

And try to get somebody who is actually more on our timeline, who is going to give us a lot of the stuff we would have wanted anyway. And I also think his value is lower than it should be because he didn’t work out all last year because he didn’t know if he was getting his extension or not.

Having suffered of a torn labrum in March, the Pelicans forward didn’t play much in 2024-25, playing just 53 games. But that didn’t stop him from having the best season of his career, averaging over 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Currently, he’s clearly the most promising player on NOLA’s roster, as Zion Williamson struggles with injuries and off-court issues.

It’s not certain, then, that the Big Easy franchise is ready to part ways with him, but as mentioned above, San Antonio has enough arguments to convince management. Being much younger than KD, the man who has plenty of potential to become a future All-Star would be more in line with the Texans’ desire to build a high-level team over the long term. As for whether this option will be favored…