Kevin Durant wasn’t dealt prior to Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. As such, the eighth-leading scorer in NBA history still plays for the Phoenix Suns.
Still to be determined is whether the underachieving Suns can salvage their season as they move on with their big three of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal intact when they host the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
The Suns lost their final three games before the deadline — two to Portland and then a 31-point drubbing from Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Durant missed the game in Oklahoma City with a sprained left ankle and his availability for Friday’s game isn’t yet firmed up. Phoenix is 1-10 this season without its star, who is 26 points away from 30,000 in his stellar career.
Just the fact that the Suns discussed Durant in trade talks could be a sign things aren’t working out in Phoenix. Similarly, the Suns were rumored to be shopping Bradley Beal, whose name was included in a potential trade for Miami’s Jimmy Butler. The guard, however, declined to waive his no-trade clause. Butler, meanwhile, wound up getting traded to Golden State.
“Nothing changed for me. My mentality is the same whether somebody is here, somebody is not here,” Beal said. “Whether I’m here, whether I’m not here. My mentality is always going to be the same, stay true to who I am. Maybe it puts people at ease.
“I wasn’t thinking about it. Taking everything a day at a time. Once I was approached with something, the conversation would be had.”
Phoenix’s season looked promising when it won eight of its first nine games. Now, though, the Suns have lost four of five and are in danger of missing the playoffs. Despite the free fall, Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer is hopeful for a strong stretch drive.
“We’ve got good players. This league is tough,” Budenholzer said. “Things can change quickly. We’ve got a good group. We’ve just got to keep working.”
Phoenix did make a trade Thursday by sending center Jusuf Nurkic and a first-round pick in 2026 to the Charlotte Hornets for forward Cody Martin, guard Vasilije Micic and a second-round pick in 2026.
Nurkic fell out of favor with the Suns and hasn’t played since Jan. 7.
Phoenix is 3-0 against the Jazz this season and has won the past nine matchups.
The Jazz have won just three of their past 15 games but are fresh off Wednesday’s stellar comeback home victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Utah trailed by 11 points with three minutes left before closing with a 20-6 burst to notch a 131-128 win.
“It shows we’re competitors,” Jazz big man Walker Kessler said after contributing 15 points and a season-best 18 rebounds. “We’re going to play hard and we’re going to play hard until the horn goes off. It’s a lot of fun.”
Jordan Clarkson scored a season-high 31 points, although he has been ruled out for Friday’s game with a foot injury. Keyonte George added 26 off the bench, while Isaiah Collier had 20 points and tied his career high of 11 assists.
“It’s another night where we have six guys in double figures and three players who score over 20 points,” Utah coach Will Hardy said afterward. “It’s a really good moment for our group to be in the tense environment and execute.”
The Jazz prevailed despite their best player, forward Lauri Markkanen, being out with back soreness. Utah hopes he will be available on Friday.
The Jazz acquired veteran guard Dennis Schroder as part of the four-team trade in which the Heat shipped Butler to the Warriors. They then flipped Schroder to the Detroit Pistons before Thursday’s deadline.
–Field Level Media
