Why the Knicks do it: They've wanted KD for so long and have pursued him for so long. Whilst he's aged a bit and his time in Phoenix was a categorical failure, it's not because of his play. A 1A 1B dynamic with Durant and the ascending Jalen Brunson rather than a COVID conspiracy theorist Kyrie would make the Knicks the best team in the conference excluding Boston, and it would be by a narrow margin.

Why the Suns do it: On some level this deal is admitting defeat but if you're Phoenix and you've been swept out in the 1st round with a second apron team, featuring two players over 35 on 50+ million a year, you kind of have to accept defeat. No one is rescuing Phoenix from that Beal contract and with his No Trade Clause even if someone was willing to, it's no guarantee Beal would do Phoenix any favors. In this spot the Suns get some much needed depth and reload with some very valuable picks (the Detroit and Washington picks especially could be very high in not long). They would be handing the reigns back to Devin Booker and hoping that he and Beal with depth can still be a strong side in spite of the absence of Durant and his generational offensive arsenal.