Having explored deals with the Golden State Warriors and other rival teams prior to the mid-season deadline, the Phoenix Suns ultimately ended the Kevin Durant drama on Sunday when they moved the 2x Finals MVP to the Houston Rockets.
The Suns have since copped enormous backlash on their return for the star forward, having received Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in this week's draft, and five second-round picks from the Rockets.
But if things weren't already bad enough for the Suns, reports of what they turned down from other teams only makes matter worse and will come as comedy gold for Warrior fans who are seeing the downfall of their close pacific rival.
The Suns reportedly turned down Darius Garland in a Kevin Durant trade
Shortly after Durant was dealt to the Rockets, it emerged that the Cleveland Cavaliers had become a smoky contender for the 36-year-old in what would have been an ironic twist of fate given the famous Finals battles of the late 2010s.
According to Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports, the Cavaliers even offered All-Star guard Darius Garland to the Suns as part of a package for Durant. Needless to say that Garland, even with some recent injury worries, would have been right at the top echelon of players that Phoenix could have realistically got back for Durant.
Garland averaged 20.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists this season, shooting an efficient 47.2% from the floor and 40.1% from 3-point range to help the Cavaliers to a 64-18 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Perhaps Green has the chance to become a multi-time All-Star guard in the same realm as Garland, but the Suns would have been much better taking the known quantity who himself is just 25-years-old.
It's simply another indication of just how much power Durant and his camp had in these negotiations, otherwise no team in their right mind would have turned down Garland in favor of what Phoenix ultimately got from Houston.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst on Monday, Durant kept rejecting certain trade avenues -- including to the Warriors in February and most recently to the Minnesota Timberwolves -- to ensure he got to the Rockets and for a price that's incredibly low for a player of his magnitude.
Given Cleveland wasn't on his preferred list of destinations (Rockets, Spurs and Heat), we can only presume that Durant and his camp also had a hand in ensuring a deal between the Suns and Cavaliers didn't go down.
All of this has come as a complete detriment to the Suns who now figure to be less of a threat to the Warriors and other Western Conference rivals next season.