The Suns are interested in the Rockets forward star. Will he become a bargaining chip in Durant s big deal?

According to the authoritative ESPN reporter Shams Charania, the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are currently Kevin Durant's favorite next home, and these three teams are also the targets Durant wants to cooperate for a long time at the current stage. Subsequently, Rockets' reporter Adam Spolane updated his social media updates, writing: If you are worried that the Rockets may pay too much for Kevin Durant, it means you don't understand the operating style of Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone. Unless he feels some kind of pressure that must be promoted, he will only negotiate on his own terms, and from the current situation, there is no sign that he is facing such pressure.

According to The Athletic Rockets reporter Kelly Iko, a league source told him that the Rockets and Phoenix Suns had been in contact with the deal about Durant for almost a year, and the two sides also discussed different frameworks during which, but in the end, no agreement was reached on the deal. Iko also said that the name of Rockets' forward star Jabari Smith Jr. is also on the Suns' list of interests, and the Suns may have plans to put Smith in the Durant trade.

In the NBA regular season this season, Durant made a total of 62 appearances, averaging 36.5 minutes per game, averaging 26.6 points, 6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks, and 3.1 turnovers and 1.7 fouls, shooting percentage of 52.7%, three-point shooting percentage of 43%, and free throw shooting percentage of 83.9%. In the NBA regular season this season, Smith played 57 games in 82 games, averaging 30.1 minutes per game, with averaging 12.2 points, 7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.8 blocks, and 1.1 turnovers and 2.2 fouls. He shot 43.8%, three-point shooting percentage 35.4%, and free throw shooting percentage 82.5%. During the playoffs, Smith averaged 20.5 minutes in these seven games, with averaging 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.1 steals and 0.7 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers and 0.9 fouls. He shot 50% from the field, 45.5% from three-point shooting percentage and 80% from free throws.

In fact, Smith's performance this season is quite good. He has also shown a certain scoring ability. He can also create threats through his own shooting ability on the offensive end. Considering that Smith is also a second-tier player, he has certain potential to explore. For the Suns, Smith is actually a trader who can be considered. With Durant's current trading value, it is not realistic for the Suns to get more future chips from the Rockets in this situation. In this case, it is already a good choice to get Smith.