"Warriors treating Jimmy Butler like a modern slave" - NBA fans abuzz over Kevin Durant almost reuniting with Steph Curry on Golden State

The Golden State Warriors were serious about facilitating a reunion between Steph Curry and Kevin Durant leading up to the trade deadline. According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Warriors offered Jimmy Butler, promising prospect Jonathan Kuminga as well as a handful of picks to the Phoenix Suns for Durant.

However, the deal never materialized and Durant remained in Phoenix. The two-time champion was reportedly not interested in a reunion which caused the deal to fall through.

Reports that the Warriors were willing to trade away Jimmy Butler immediately, to acquire a different star sparked some reactions among fans online.

"Lmao Warriors treating Jimmy like a modern slave like how they treated Schroder," one fan tweeted.

"Imagine being Jimmy Butler finding out the team u had on ur list to be traded to was going to trade you the same day😭," one fan said.

"So they didn’t even wanna keep Jimmy to start, he was just a trade piece for Kd lol." another fan commented.

Meanwhile, some fans ripped the Suns front office for this deal not materializing.

"Suns owner is actually so dumb," an NBA fan tweeted.

"That package could’ve helped them start to retool the roster. It’ll be interesting to see what the Suns can get this summer if they shop KD again," another fan tweeted.

"My gosh the Suns are idiots They shoulda done it anyway man," one fan said.

According to ESPN Insider Brian Windhorst, the Warriors, Suns and the Heat already had a potential trade in place. The deal would have sent Kevin Durant to the Warriors while the Suns would have ended up with Jimmy Butler. However, Durant made it clear that he was not interested in returning to Golden State.

While the Suns could have traded him away anyway, it seems like Durant's wishes ultimately prevailed. This led to the Warriors acquiring Butler instead of Durant before the trade deadline.

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Two other teams were reportedly interested in acquiring Kevin Durant besides Warriors

Kevin Durant's name did not pop in trade rumors the way Bradley Beal or Jimmy Butler's names did in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. However, all that changed when the Golden State Warriors began pursuing Durant. According to Shams Charania, the Warriors front office's persistence in acquiring Durant emboldened other teams to inquire about the 2014 MVP.

"Multiple new teams though (other than the Warriors), did make some offers," Charania shared. "That included the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat."

The Heat offered Butler and Josh Richardson for Durant according to Charania but Durant remained with Phoenix after the trade deadline.

Kevin Durant opted to leave the OKC Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016. His stint with the Warriors resulted in two championships, but he left in the summer of 2019 to join the Brooklyn Nets. In 2023, the Nets traded Durant to the Phoenix Suns.

Durant is in the third year of a four-year deal. He can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026 if he chooses to leave Phoenix.