SAN ANTONIO — As the NBA Draft draws nearer, talks surrounding Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant are likely to pick up.
The Suns first addressed their general manager situation, promoting long-time NCAA coach Brian Gregory to the role in place of James Jones before landed their new coach, Brian Ott, from Cleveland. Next on the to-do list is to find a new home for Durant.
According to Shams Charania, four to six teams are expected to be interested in landing the 15-time All-Star. Of them is the San Antonio Spurs, who, according to Charania, shared a mutual interest with Durant at February’s Trade Deadline.
If Durant did land in San Antonio, DeMarcus Cousins would be all for it.
“Even at this age, he’s still a very good player,” the former NBA veteran said on FanDuel’s “Run It Back” recently. “Any team he goes to that actually has a plan … he’s right back as one of the top guys competing for a championship.”
As for whether Cousins’ assessment was praising the Spurs or indicting Phoenix? Perhaps a bit of both. As he explained, San Antonio is clearly on a marching path toward Western Conference contention. Durant could be the next piece of the puzzle.
“I don’t think Phoenix had a plan,” Cousins said. “It never made sense in the first place. One thing that bothers me … they just put these superstar names together and think: ‘Oh, we’ve got all this talent, we’re supposed to win.’ They’ve gotten away from team building.”
In more good news for the Spurs, Brian Wright is no stranger to that.