You would know just how perplexing this season has been when you consider the fact that the Philadelphia 76ers have managed to turn their robustly talented squad into a floppy lottery team, yet they are far from being the dominant entry in the list of disappointing ball clubs in the league in this ongoing campaign.
Another equally disappointing squad this season as Philly, if not more, is Phoenix. Also bannered by a three-headed scoring monster in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, not even their star-studded lineup proved to be enough to survive in the fierce playoff race in the Western Conference. With another loss (or a Dallas win), they will be officially eliminated from the postseason.
The Suns’ epic failure, however, was far from surprising. Their roster construction was pretty wacky, and not even Mike Budeholzer can get his players to commit to playing defense. Now, the franchise could very well seek another facelift this offseason, although their means to do just that remain hazy at this point in time.
The 76ers could actually be in play for Kevin Durant
With Phoenix looking distant from sniffing any meaningful success with their current nucleus, Durant may be the first to want out from their ill-fated partnership. There are already murmurs about the future Hall of Famer possibly seeking a new home, and judging by his character, specifically his penchant for “superteams”, the 76ers could actually be in the loop.
Since leaving Oklahoma City and experiencing a ton of success in Golden State, Durant had tried to replicate that sort of success by catalyzing the creation of star-studded teams, depth be damned. Well, if he is looking for a new team adopting such template, Philadelphia is staring at him right in the eye.
The 76ers, desperate to regain relevance, have the stylings of a realistic destination for the equally desperate All-Star. As long as Phoenix is heavily incentivized, it could perhaps be lured into giving its assent to, say, a trade framework centered on a Kevin Durant-Paul George swap. The Suns have a complete dearth of draft capital, and the 76ers can certainly help replenish some of the draft picks they willingly dangled away.
Whether fans would be receptive to such a hypothetical deal is a story for another day, but all things considered, Kevin Durant have much worse options than having the Philadelphia 76ers in his shortlist if he tries to force his way out which, at this rate, is imbued with a great deal of likelihood.