The Warriors may be staring at the end of an era, but that hasn’t stopped the idea of a bold swing from hanging over them. In a proposed four-team blockbuster, Golden State would bring Kevin Durant back into the fold, a move built around the belief that Stephen Curry can’t carry the load by himself anymore at this stage of his career.
The deal would shake out like this: the Warriors get Kevin Durant, the Clippers land Jimmy Butler III, the Rockets take De’Aaron Fox, and the Spurs receive Darius Garland and Derrick Jones Jr. It’s a lot to untangle, and the trade is clearly framed as a hypothetical ahead of the 2026-2026 season.
For Golden State, the logic is simple. The team needs another scorer, and Durant would fit that need immediately.
He could slide into the starting lineup and resume the shot-taking role he filled from 2016 to 2019. Even with the sour ending to his first run with the Warriors, the idea here is that he gives them a real chance to keep winning now.
The Clippers’ part of the deal is about the future. They would be looking to unload salary and reset after the NBA finished its investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the team’s shady off-court business dealings. That ruling hit hard, with several assets forfeited, and the trade concept has them moving Butler in exchange for picks in either 2027 or 2028.
Houston’s angle is different. The Rockets believed Durant would speed up their push toward a title, but that didn’t happen. This proposal gives them the point guard they were missing: someone who can score and distribute, which Fox would bring to a roster that already had plenty of offense.
As for San Antonio, the swap is presented as a cleaner fit. Fox looked a bit out of place with the Spurs last season, especially during their Finals run, and the idea is that Garland would be an upgrade at that spot. The Spurs would also pick up Jones, giving them another defensive-minded wing in the process.
In Other News...
Spurs May Revisit One Missed Free Agent Fit Around Wembanyama
Rui Hachimuras free-agency decision gave the Spurs another reminder of how competitive the market can be for players who fit alongside Victor Wembanyama. He landed with the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $28 million contract, choosing to stay in Los Angeles after drawing interest from the Spurs, Warriors, Timberwolves and Nets, and he pointed to the support around players and the quality of the facilities as part of what made the move appealing.
For San Antonio, the larger takeaway is less about one lost chase than about the type of complementary piece the franchise is still trying to gather around Wembanyama. Some observers have already wondered whether Hachimura might look back and think twice, given the Spurs upside as a Finals-level contender, but for now the conversation shifts to whether that kind of fit becomes available again and whether San Antonio is ready to pounce when it does. [Read more 🡒]
Rui Hachimura Choice Could Haunt Clippers If This Backfires
Rui Hachimuras decision to sign a two-year deal with the Clippers added another wrinkle to an offseason that had San Antonio watching closely. According to the reporting around his free agency, Hachimura had other paths on the table, including interest from the Spurs, but ultimately chose to remain in Los Angeles rather than make a move that might have given him a different basketball lane.
For San Antonio, the broader takeaway is less about one missed signing than the way the rest of the board kept moving. A Spurs reporter noted that Hachimura could come to regret passing on the opportunity, especially because the team pivoted after his hesitation and filled that spot elsewhere, leaving open the question of whether a cleaner fit in San Antonio might have looked better in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Mock Trade Puts Their Backcourt Plan Under A Harsh Spotlight
San Antonios backcourt planning has become a little more complicated with the club reportedly committed to keeping DeAaron Fox in the fold, at least for now. The reasoning is pretty straightforward: the Spurs do not have much point guard depth to lean on, and that reality makes it harder to imagine moving on from a player who gives them immediate structure and pace. Still, the rumor mill has a way of testing even the most logical roster-building approach.
Bleacher Report recently floated a mock trade designed as a contingency plan, one that would give the Spurs a different kind of guard-forward mix while also helping New Orleans start a rebuild. It is purely speculative, but it does underline the pressure on San Antonios front office to think beyond the present and decide how much faith to place in the current backcourt setup. [Read more 🡒]