I believe this addresses the main issues for three teams.

For the Suns, they are stuck with Beal and won't want to move Booker, so Durant becomes the valuable trade piece if they want to make a change to improve.

they get two centers that I believe are both better than Nurk and two great forward prospects with a solid Forward in Grant to support the backcourt. they also get a 7th pick that might be another Center or quality asset.

it's hard to lose a star like Durant but this is a soft landing ready to compete.

for the Rockets they have so many young players right now it's hard to understand what the minutes rotation should be. if they are ready to start competing at the highest level then they need a several players for one superstar move. Durant can be that super star. I think there is a gamble on his age but if it works out, Brogdon is a good starter you don't lose much from Fred but at a much better price, you get to support those two with Green, Eason, Tate and Sangun. also, you bring in a young high quality sixth man in Simons and draft a prospect at #14.

the liability is that the rockets drop from 3 to 14 and give up some serious prospects. it's hard to quantify fixing the guard rotation and adding a superstar. Thompson, Whitmore, and Smith might just be too high a price but a swing like Durant is expensive. I think the values are right, but even then, I could see the rockets not wanting to make that move.

for Portland they get to draft at 3 and add Smith while taking on what I think they would look at as bad contracts but a necessary tradeoff for those assets. they can say Scoot, Sharpe, Smith, and the #3 pick constitute the core going forward. they play for development while losing a lot of games next year for one more high pick and then start competing knowing they have three unprotected picks in 2029 to seriously support this core as it develops.

I'm interested in where this thinking is unreasonable. I think Portland could send more second rounders out to both the suns and rockets if it would make a difference. I think Portland could send some of their other young players out if that would make a difference in the trade. thanks for any feedback.