Now a member of the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant envisioned retiring as a member of the Phoenix Suns while he was there.

In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated, Durant detailed why things didn’t work out the way he hoped. He also delved into what the future could hold in Houston and why that destination worked well for him.

“I wanted to retire in Phoenix,” Durant said. “I really had good intentions when I stepped foot in there. The picture in your head doesn’t always come to fruition.”

The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and four unprotected first-round picks to acquire Durant. It severely depleted the roster depth and flexibility, something that only got worse with the trade for Bradley Beal.

Houston traded Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Khaman Maluach as the biggest pieces in a seven-team deal to score Durant.

Durant Rues Suns Roster Construction

While Durant defended the trade to acquire him saying he makes up for any level of assets surrendered, he criticized the team’s lack of size.

“From a basketball standpoint, I felt like our best lineups were me at the five with four guards that were under 6′ 5″,” Durant said. “That’s a horrible formula to win basketball games at a high level, especially when teams are consciously getting bigger.

“I think we can speak on a mental aspect of the game as much as we want, but I think that physical aspect of the game is why we weren’t successful as a team.”

The reality is there was no way for Phoenix to create adequate depth by sacrificing what they did to acquire both Durant and Beal. The Suns surrendered Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and four first-round pick swaps for Beal.

In the Rockets’ case, they had a draft pick cabinet and young player cabinet full to the brim. Sacrificing Green and Brooks were a no brainer for a player of Durant’ caliber. Other teams didn’t want to make the same mistake Phoenix did.

“I think other teams valued growing their younger players and draft picks,” Durant said. “I’m a veteran, [now] 37 years old, with a high price tag. Not a lot of people in the league wanted to make that move to change the franchise and add me to the equation.”

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