As hectic as this year's NBA trade deadline has been, with 28 out of the 30 teams making at least one trade, early Thursday morning at 1:00 am, a blockbuster trade went down that not many expected. However, if you had read my previous article, you could have gotten a glimpse of the future thanks to my magic ball, as the first "potential trade" I wrote about was sending Kevin Durant to none other than the Pheonix Suns.Kevin Durant is undeniably a top-three player and arguably even the best in the NBA right now. It's not surprising to hear how stunned the NBA world was after seeing this trade, as the Suns sold a huge chunk of their future for the Nets superstar but were somehow saved from involving Deandre Ayton in the trade!Any average NBA fan knows how much of an impact future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant has on any team, but to emphasize just how much, check this out: The Suns went from odds of +1800 of winning the finals to +450 on Thursday morning after the huge trade, now only behind the Boston Celtics, who lead the race with their odds being +350. 

Kevin Durant's Season Recap

Durant (knee) has been sidelined for over a month after getting hurt on January 8 against the Miami Heat and remains without a timetable to return to make his debut with the Suns. Before getting hurt, the 13-time All-Star was averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 36 minutes in 39 appearances this season.

FULL TRADE DETAILS:

Suns- Kevin Durant- TJ WarrenNets- ... [More]

Trevor Ariza is on the move for the third time this week, going to Oklahoma City from Detroit along with Dallas' Justin Jackson in a three-team trade. Also in the deal, the Mavericks sent Delon Wright to the Pistons for James Johnson, a person with knowledge of the details said early Saturday. Ariza was sent from Portland to Houston two days before the draft, then shipped to the Pistons on draft night Wednesday. The 35-year-old has already played for 10 teams. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been announced. It was first reported by the New York Times. The Mavericks added Johnson to provide some toughness around young stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Dallas was defensive-minded on draft night, taking Arizona's Josh Green in the first round and trading for Philadelphia's Josh Richardson. Point guard Trey Burke and the Mavericks agreed on a $10 million, three-year contract for the free agent to return after a strong showing... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — The Mavericks have waived Zach Randolph two days after acquiring the forward while sending Harrison Barnes to Sacramento in a trade designed to give Dallas salary-cap relief.Randolph and young forward Justin Jackson were sent to the Mavericks in a deal that came together while Barnes was playing for Dallas in a 99-93 win over Charlotte on Wednesday. Jackson was active for Friday night's game against Milwaukee.The 37-year-old Randolph never played for the Kings in his second season with them. He was a frequent Dallas foe during his eight seasons with Memphis. A day after the trade, Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said he didn't expect Randolph to play for the club.Randolph has averaged 16.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in 17 seasons with five teams.By trading Barnes, the Mavericks put themselves in position to acquire another front-line player to go with rookie sensation Luka Doncic and 2018 All-Star Kristaps Porzingis.Dallas traded for Porzingis last week in a seven-player deal with New York that starters Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and center DeAndre Jordan to the Knicks. Porzingis won't play this season as he continues to recover from a knee injury sustained last February.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger wants his team to run more this season and plans to give speedy point guard De'Aaron Fox all the room he needs.Fox was one of the fastest players in the NBA last year as a rookie, but the Kings offense was uneven most of the season and frequently bogged down in the half-court.With an influx of young, quick players added to an already youthful roster, the hope is that Fox can get Sacramento out and running and, possibly, back into the postseason."The best thing you can do for him is play fast and give him as much room as possible," Joerger said Monday at the Kings practice facility during media day. "To play small and try to do that is best for De'Aaron. He's our franchise guy. I think he is and I think everybody kind of agrees on that."The fifth overall pick in 2017, Fox started 60 games and averaged 11.6 points with 4.4 assists, but shot only 41.2 percent while struggling with an inconsistent mid-range jumpshot.The Kings were... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Summer play is a grind for the Miami Heat.They like it that way.Miami is one of eight teams doubling up on summer leagues this year, and when the biggest one in NBA history opens on Friday in Las Vegas — all 30 franchises are sending a club to the primary summer league for the first time — the Heat think that getting three games under their belt already will be a big help.The first summer league hosted by the Sacramento Kings, the California Classic, came to a close Thursday. Golden State beat the Los Angeles Lakers 77-71, and Miami topped Sacramento 86-76.Play in the Utah Jazz Summer League also wrapped up Thursday, with San Antonio beating Memphis 94-87 and Utah beating Atlanta 92-87 in the finale — the memorable moment there being when Jazz guard Grayson Allen and Hawks guard Trae Young scuffled briefly in the third quarter .It was much ado about very little; Allen and Young both earned technical fouls.But it does speak to how seriously the players take the games at... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Summer play is a grind for the Miami Heat.They like it that way.Miami is one of eight teams doubling up on summer leagues this year, and when the biggest one in NBA history opens on Friday in Las Vegas — all 30 franchises are sending a club to the primary summer league for the first time — the Heat think that getting three games under their belt already will be a big help.The first summer league hosted by the Sacramento Kings, the California Classic, came to a close Thursday. Golden State beat the Los Angeles Lakers 77-71, and Miami topped Sacramento 86-76.Play in the Utah Jazz Summer League also wrapped up Thursday, with San Antonio beating Memphis 94-87 and Utah facing Atlanta in the finale.The Heat flew cross-country for their summer league training camp in Sacramento, doing so because playing in the second league ensures that the team will appear in at least eight summer games instead of the five that are guaranteed to teams who play only in Las Vegas.And they saw players... [More]

Things are coming a little easier this summer for Derrick White.White, the 29th pick in last year's draft, is off to a fast start in the NBA Summer League. He scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a lopsided 103-81 victory over Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.The 6-foot-4 point guard, who played in 17 games last season for the Spurs, also had nine assists, six rebounds and two blocks in an impressive all-around performance."I am just feeling more comfortable this year," White said. "I am learning what works and what I need to do to be successful."White continued his solid play from the night before, when he had 22 points and seven rebounds in the Spurs' 92-76 loss to the Utah Jazz.White is vying for more playing this season, especially with Kawhi Leonard's future with the Spurs uncertain.Young, this year's No. 5 overall pick, continued to struggle in Utah, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting. In two games the former Oklahoma... [More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Coach Dave Joerger strongly believes Sacramento's commitment to youth this season will pay off down the line in helping develop the Kings into a playoff contender.How soon that happens remains an open question."It can be frustrating because we're a society that wants a quick change and we want it right now," Joerger said after the final game of his second season in Sacramento. "It just takes time together to get that chemistry. We all want it to happen as fast as possible and we're doing everything we can for that."The Kings took a step back in the standings this season, winning five fewer games on the way to a 27-55 record that left them out of the playoffs for the 12th straight season, the longest active drought in the NBA.But with most of Sacramento's key players age 25 or younger, there might be some reason for optimism for a franchise that seems to be in perpetual rebuilding mode."They've seen enough to know how to react now," veteran Vince Carter said. "They... [More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Coach Dave Joerger strongly believes Sacramento's commitment to youth this season will pay off down the line in helping develop the Kings into a playoff contender.How soon that happens remains an open question."It can be frustrating because we're a society that wants a quick change and we want it right now," Joerger said after the final game of his second season in Sacramento. "It just takes time together to get that chemistry. We all want it to happen as fast as possible and we're doing everything we can for that."The Kings took a step back in the standings this season, winning five fewer games on the way to a 27-55 record that left them out of the playoffs for the 12th straight season, the longest active drought in the NBA.But with most of Sacramento's key players age 25 or younger, there might be some reason for optimism for a franchise that seems to be in perpetual rebuilding mode."They've seen enough to know how to react now," veteran Vince Carter said. "They... [More]