Kevin Durant's 2023-24 season with Suns did not go the way it was supposed to
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant earned All-NBA second-team honors, but he was not used the way he should have been.
Kevin Durant was expected to get the Phoenix Suns over their championship hump when he was traded to the team in February 2023.
However, the Suns haven’t figured out how to best utilize his talents.
Durant played eight games with the Suns in the 2022-2023 the regular season before they were eliminated by the eventual champions, the Denver Nuggets, in six games in the Western Conference semifinals.
This past season, Phoenix went 49-33 and Durant earned second-team All-NBA honors. He also earned one all-defensive team vote and could have had the recognition because he guarded one through five and held each position below league average.
Durant, who has two more years left on his four-year, $194,219,320 contract, according to Spotrac, is looking like the player the Suns expected him to be, which is to most one of the 10-best ever. It is only right Phoenix makes change to best serve Durant to affirm how much they gave up in order to get him here and appreciate him.
“A constant focus for us is to continue how to figure out and maximize Kevin Durant,” said Suns general manager and president of basketball operations James Jones.
Durant’s MVP season is in the past, but he clearly is still playing a level of basketball that commits defensive attention.
Durant is one of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history. For a portion of the 2023-24 season, Durant led the NBA in 3-point percentage. In 2022-23 Durant became the first player to shoot at least 55 percent from the floor, 45 percent from three and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
The 35-year-old Durant is too often spaced out from the focus of the defense. He will need to be a bigger part of what the Suns do when it comes to their offensive structure.
Phoenix is a heavy pick-and-roll team but needs to optimize Durant, who is best served with his touches in his favored spots around the mid-post. If he is not the primary action he needs to be utilized in the corner where he can use his strong 3-point shooting to make defenses pay if the Suns choose to make Devin Booker and Bradley Beal parts of their sets.
Durant in December was reported to be frustrated. The 35-year-old responded with incredibly efficient numbers, something he needs to implement and assert within the scheme of Mike Budenholzer, who tends to play five-out and have his guards initiate offense. Durant’s turnover numbers may suggest he is best served off the ball and not initiating offenses.
The Suns in 2023-24 finished fourth in 3-point percentage and will seek to improve there, according to Jones. Phoenix somehow forgot it had nine 3-point shooters who made at least 35 percent of their attempts from distance in 2022-23 and still finished No. 25 in attempts per game (32.3).
Durant and Suns guard Grayson Allen were two of the best long-distance shooters in the NBA. Even though Durant has said a high volume of threes are not reflective of his top game, it would help the Suns if he committed from that range.
Coach Mike Budenholzer is looking to have a philosophical approach based on a high number of 3-point shots.
“When I think about Kevin and Devin - two of the greatest (mid-range shooters), I think of it as adding to what they do,” Budenholzer said. “They’re so talented and good at everything they do. I want to make them better, I want to push them to be their best.”
Booker, even though he is best-suited off the ball, is one of the best playmakers in the NBA when he is the point guard. He was one of three players (Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic) to rank at least among the top-six players in scoring and top-11 in assists per game.
The Suns too often failed to maximize having two All-NBA players on the floor at the same time. If the Suns choose to isolate Booker and Durant while using off-ball creation from heavy screen actions, cuts or movement, that could create matchup advantages.
Durant is someone who also must be catered to. The Suns have clearly asserted they believe Booker, who they drafted with the No. 13 pick in 2015, is their franchise player.
However, the Suns made the trade for Durant and need to go all-in on making him feel appreciated as part of the team.