Coach Vogel Adamant Against Reducing Kevin Durant’s Workload Despite Massive Trade Deadline Acquisition

The Phoenix Suns were one of the few teams that hit the jackpot with their trade deadline acquisitions. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Thursday that the Suns have agreed to a three-way trade with the Brooklyn Nets and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Suns will acquire Royce O’Neale from the Brooklyn Nets for three second-round picks and cash considerations, and David Roddy from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a pick swap. The Suns not only gave up three second-round picks to acquire O’Neale but also gave up multiple players for him. That includes Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Watanabe, Chimezie Mezu, and Jordan Goodwin.

With the addition of Royce O’Neale and David Roddy, the Suns once again revived their bench depth. O’Neale will fill some of the holes in the Suns’ current iteration. With his size, he’s capable of handling top defensive assignments, which will take some load off Kevin Durant‘s shoulders. One might believe such an acquisition would mean adequate rest for players who are approaching the twilight of their careers. But coach Frank Vogel has no such plans. Even with O’Neale in the fold, Vogel does not plan on “changing what Kevin Durant is doing.”

According to him, Durant is playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level, and he wants KD to continue doing his thing. However, that might not be the best course of action for a player who has undergone 33 surgeries in six years.