Warriors trade rumors: Insider reports real reason behind Kevin Durant straightforwardly rejecting reunion with Steph Curry 

Over the past few days, there was endless chatter of Kevin Durant possibly returning to the Golden State Warriors. Following the team's big splash Wednesday night, developments emerged of why things fell through with the former MVP.

As everyone knows, Durant famously joined the Warriors in free agency back in 2016. He'd have great success there, winning a pair of championships and Finals MVPs. That said, his departure in 2019 was far from seamless.

Leading up to the trade deadline, reports surfaced that Durant shut down a return to the Warriors. On Thursday morning, insider Anthony Slater detailed how the franchise underestimated the star forward's feelings toward the organization.

“At some point in the last several days, Stephen Curry had a conversation with Kevin Durant that convinced him a reunion was extremely unlikely, no matter how much the Golden State Warriors ownership group and front office collectively ‘underestimated’ Durant’s coldness toward a return, as one team source put it.”

After things fell through with KD, Golden State quickly pivoted to another big name on the market. They'd end up coming to terms on a deal to land Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat.

Despite his name being tossed around in trade rumors, it looks as though Durant will remain with the Phoenix Suns past the 3:00 pm deadline.

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Kevin Durant reportedly shut down mega-deal that would have landed him with the Warriors

As the dust starts to settle from the latest All-Star trade in the NBA, it appears that Kevin Durant was closer to rejoining the Warriors than most thought. According to one insider, a trade was at the finish line before the star forward shut it down.

Early Thursday morning, Brian Windhorst joined ESPN's Get Up to discuss the Warriors landing Jimmy Butler. He feels the deal is more of a "what if" because the original framework had Durant going to Golden State.

"There was a trade sort of in place between Golden State, Phoenix and Miami," Windhorst said. "That would have returned Kevin Durant to Golden State. But Durant stepped up and made it known he did not want a reunion."

The Suns were one of the main teams connected to Butler from the start of his trade saga, but Bradley Beal was the main piece expected to be outgoing. With Golden State desperate to find a star-level talent to pair with Steph Curry, the front office seems to have pivoted to this reported framework.

Despite winning a gold medal with Curry in the Olympics over the summer, it appears Durant had no plans on reuniting in Golden State. Instead, he'll remain in Phoenix and attempt to compete alongside Devin Booker and company.

Durant, 36, is still a highly impactful player in the NBA. This season, the 14-time All-Star is averaging 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists.