The Golden State Warriors trade rumors won’t stop until the final minutes of the 2025 NBA trade deadline. At this point, they have been connected to almost every available superstar and even some that might not be.
After the blockbuster Lakers-Luka Doncic trade, the league now believes that anyone can be traded, and the Warriors are hoping that is true. They have recently shown interest in two NBA legends, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. LeBron seems very unlikely, but the Durant-Warriors trade rumors are starting to pick up some steam. The question is, does trading for Durant even make the Warriors championship contenders?
Durant is certainly the best player that has been linked to the Warriors. Despite his age, Durant is still better than Zach LaVine, Zion Williamson, and Paul George. A reunion of the Dubs and Durant would make huge headlines, and the Warriors would definitely get better in the short-term. It is unclear however if they would become good enough to compete with the best in the West.
The Warriors might gut their future while still not having enough
Durant is the best player on the Suns, and they aren’t currently contending in the West. They have the same record as the Warriors and are barely fighting for a Play-In tournament spot. He has arguably a better supporting cast in Phoenix than Curry does in Golden State, yet neither team are competing at the top of the conference. That isn't the best sign for Durant's ability to help lead a contending team at this point of his career.
Durant’s top running mate, Devin Booker, is averaging 26.1 points, 6.7 assists and four rebounds a game, while Curry is putting up 22.1 points, 6.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game. If Steph and KD teamed up once again, it is unclear if they’d be able to dominate like the good ole days.
It doesn’t look like swapping Booker for Curry assures Durant a better chance at contending. On top of that, for the Warriors to trade for Durant they’d need to give up quite a bit. First of all Andrew Wiggins would almost certainly need to be in the deal from a salary-matching standpoint, while the Suns also have reportedly shown interest in Jonathan Kuminga. That sounds like the start of a reasonable trade package for Durant, but would it weaken the Warriors roster too much?
Losing Wiggins and Kuminga would hurt the Warriors defense in a big way. They are two of the team's best and most athletic defenders. Durant is obviously a scoring upgrade, but he isn’t bringing it on the other side of the floor like he did in his first stint with Golden State.
So although a Durant trade would certainly lift the Warriors, it may not push them into the upper echelon of the West. The Thunder, Rockets, Nuggets and now Lakers are all going to be hard to beat. Durant brings the Warriors closer to competing with them, but a blockbuster reunion might actually sound far better in theory than reality.