The Kevin Durant sweepstakes are continuing as the hottest topic around the league at the moment, yet it appears that the Golden State Warriors aren't part of the conversation surrounding the 2x Finals MVP this time around.
The Warriors went hard after Durant prior to the mid-season trade deadline in February, believing they had a deal in place before the superstar forward made it known that he had no interest in a reunion in the Bay.
The Warriors have realized the hindrance of an unhappy Kevin Durant
Golden State still could have traded for Durant -- it's not as if he has a no-trade clause -- but didn't want to continue with acquiring a star player who didn't want to be there. It's that same aspect that means the Warriors are out of the current trade rumors, with Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard stating it "very unlikely that the Warriors will be the team that ends up with Durant this time."
As well as suggesting it unwise to risk the chemistry built with Jimmy Butler by turning around and flipping the former Miami Heat star to Phoenix for Durant, Kawakami also pointed to Golden State's knowledge of managing the 36-year-old when he's unhappy.
"Durant still doesn’t want to do the Warriors thing again and the Warriors understand how sour it can get when he’s unhappy," Kawakami wrote.
The Warriors have first-hand knowledge of the Durant experience, but teams currently in the market for him don't have that luxury. Therefore it will be fascinating to see if a rival team potentially falls into the trap of trading for the 15x All-Star, even if he's made it clear that he doesn't want to play for that team.
Take the Minnesota Timberwolves, for example, who are now in the Durant chase after beating Golden State in the second-round, before falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Monday that Durant "has no desire to be in Minnesota," stating that the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets remain the three teams on the preferred destination list.
Will the Timberwolves (or another team) take a risk on trading for Durant despite his wishes? The Toronto Raptors' acquisition of Kawhi Leonard in 2018 proves how a one-year rental can work out, but the downside is enormous given Durant has one year left on his deal and could theoretically walk for nothing in free agency next year.
The Warriors have clearly realized that this risk is simply too great, but it remains to be seen whether the Timberwolves and others outside the preference list choose to hold a similar mindset.