"Privately, the Suns admit they made a mistake by not involving Durant earlier in the process. They had hoped to keep the discussions closed, the way the Dallas Mavericks did with Luka Doncic, but when the Suns inevitably had to discuss scenarios with third teams to find a way to execute a deal, word leaked across the league," wrote Windhorst.

The Suns started their off-season by firing first-year coach Mike Budenholzer. It's the first step in what could be a dramatic remodeling of the club.

As the regular season begins to wind down, trade rumors involving Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant begin to heat up again. The Suns had a chance to trade Duran