Kevin Durant’s Worst Nightmare Could Come True On The Suns

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At first, I was shocked on how the Suns got this done, then scared for every team in the West, the Grizzlies are not fine in the West, then excited to see Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker play together with Deandre Ayton. Point god, combined with two of the best scorers in the league.

This has to be on paper the best team in the West right, heck the best team in the NBA on paper. Even Luka agreed. **But I began to realize that there’s a problem that’s just a bit deeper than the surface** that could ruin this whole thing because Durant is stuck in a catch 22 and the Suns are already worried about the future.

Gone is the era of superteams. But here we are with a Big 3. 3 stars on one team with a not so bad supporting cast.

So what was a superstar worth? 5 players and 9 first rounders? The Suns gave up Mikhal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, 4 first round picks, 1 pick swap for a Kevin Durant with 3 and a half years left on his contract!

It’s why Kevin Durant was thought to be nearly untouchable since no trade package could come close until now.

**But is Chris Paul as he is right now a star?** Of course he’s thought of as one, but the way he’s currently playing has even the Suns organization worried about his future.

This is not a knock on CP3, he’s 38 years old and not everyone is LeBron. While CP3s stats may look mid, 13.8 points, 8.7 assists, we’ve seen him sorta lost a step. The Suns have not been good this entire year. As I’ve talked about, they have dealt with a lot of drama, and a lot of injuries. And I mean a lot to the point that I can draw a J in their missed games.

A hamstring injury in 2015 that cost the Clippers the series against the Rockets, a broken hand in 2016 while up 2-1 and lost the series, and the most infamous, another hamstring strain in 2018 while the Rockets were up 3-2 against KD and the Warriors and while we don’t know what would have happened, but Chris Paul was the difference.

**And it might not be just injuries,** Chris Paul is the only player to blow 5 2-0 leads in playoff series. We saw one of the biggest collapses against the Mavericks. That’s an understatement…

Well he wanted to go to the Suns or Heat earlier this year, the prior #1 seeds in each conference as if he didn’t also go to the best team of all time Warriors and feel like he wasn’t getting enough credit for leading a franchise to the championship. Now he goes to a team 2 years removed from being in the NBA finals, now expected to win a chip or have another tarnished legacy.

Durant is stuck in a catch 22 again. Because if Chris Paul goes down, is Durant gonna get a pass? Going to Phoenix is Durant’s choice. He wants to win, but Big 3s aren’t always the easiest to immediately mesh. If Chris Paul is on a ticking timer and the Suns have less than half a season to figure it out before the playoffs in a loaded West. Ja’s not fine…So Durant whether he cares to admit or not is also on a timer. And we’ve seen him try to get out of situations he doesn’t like, plain and simple. He requested a trade from the Nets right after signing a contract extension

The one glaring and I mean severely glaring issue is the defense. You have legitimately traded your best defensive perimeter players. Chris Paul isn’t gonna be able to stick with Western conference guards like Ja, Luka, now Kyrie, so who on the Suns will is chasing guards? Darius Bazley is their answer. A versatile 6’ 9” wing with a near 7 foot wingspan that is continuing to develop defensively.

But again, on paper the Suns are the best team in the NBA. It’s probably all you’ve heard over the past few days. And I agree. We’re talking about Kevin Durant, one of the best scorers of all time, alongside another guy Devin Booker who also doesn’t require the ball. If Chris Paul can put together 1-2 more solid seasons, they have some one running the shoe. They got Darius Bazley and TJ Warren for some wing depth, shooters all around and a big body in Ayton with Monty Williams a coach that runs solid schemes.

And not only that, but the Suns are one of the most hated teams in the NBA. Now maybe the antics will stop, maybe they get even worse with Durant, but I’m curious to see how Durant will respond. Again, he’s no stranger to being on a hated team. The Nets were up there when he assembled that last super team, but that was mainly for seemingly destroying parity.