Kevin Durant fires back after Suns owner Mat Ishbia calls 2023 trade a mistake

Phoenix won one playoff series with Durant before shipping him to Houston in 2025.

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated 1h2 min read

What happened: Rockets forward Kevin Durant pushed back on X after Suns owner Mat Ishbia told CNBC that acquiring the 16-time All-Star in 2023 did not align with his vision for Phoenix. Durant mocked the critique with a '#blameKD' tag, noting he maintained elite production at age 36 and brought back the pieces for the franchise's current culture.

Why it matters: Phoenix surrendered Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks, and a 2028 pick swap to Brooklyn for Durant, only to miss the 2025 postseason entirely. Phoenix forged a new identity after sending Durant to Houston in July 2025 for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, one first-round pick, and five second-rounders. Ishbia credited that pivot with resetting the roster's DNA after initially throwing money at the team following his $2.28 billion purchase in February 2023.

By the numbers: Durant averaged 26.8 points across 145 regular-season games over two-plus seasons with the Suns, who won just one playoff series during his tenure. Following the July 2025 trade, Phoenix went 45-37 in 2025-26 and advanced through the play-in tournament before a first-round sweep against Oklahoma City, while Durant's 52-30 Rockets fell to the Lakers in six games as the West's No. 5 seed.

What to watch: Durant and the Rockets continue preparing for the 2026-27 regular season, which tips off later this month.

Sources

Yahoo NBA 2026-10-18T00:15:50.984230+00:00

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