“Durant is on an expiring $54.7 million deal for 2025-26, and the Suns have made clear to six-to-eight seriously interested teams that they will make the best deal for the franchise – even outside of his preferred list of Miami, San Antonio and Houston” wrote Shams Charania on X recently. The rumors about Kevin Durant’s trade have taken hold of the NBA world, with a ‘preferred list’ all but confirming the veteran has played his last game with the Phoenix Suns.

Among his suitors, the San Antonio Spurs stand out more prominently than the others. Unfortunately, two rounds of negotiations have seemingly failed in recent days. Recently, on The Skip Bayless Show, the ESPN2 commentator Bayless highlighted his belief that, at this point in time. Durant does not want to be viewed as “somebody’s savior”.

This is why, according to him, the Spurs are the “sweetest landing spot” for the star. After all, “there wouldn’t be instant savior expectation and pressure on him. But he could, you know, mentor Wemby a little bit, and they’d be very good. The West is just so stacked and loaded, I don’t know that they’d immediately be a contender…. but if you put him and De’Aaron and Wemby on the floor together, and Stephon Castle just won rookie of the year….”.  The possibilities surely are endless.

Unfortunately, the past few days have shown that the Phoenix Suns won’t let their star player go without an acceptable compromise. Back on Saturday, The Stein Line journalist Marc Stein reported that “Phoenix is not enamored with the players San Antonio has made available in the teams’ talks to date”. He also highlighted that a deal might be able to take place if “the Spurs are only willing to discuss veterans such as Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes”.

The Spurs listened to the woes and, as Sports Illustrated’s Shadab Khan highlighted, the team presented a new trade package which contained Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, the No. 14 pick, and second-round draft capital. However, the Suns didn’t accept even that deal. Why? Well, according to reports, the team also wanted Stephon Castle or Jeremy Sochan instead of the draft picks.

The back-and-forth discussion not reaching any conclusion seems to have now diminished hope of an agreement. In a recent discussion with Jason Ross, The Athletic’s Sam Amick revealed that “you and I lived it with the [De’Aaron] Fox trade, we just saw how the Spurs had zero intention or willingness to give up anything on their roster—let alone anybody in their young core. I don’t know that that has changed all that much. The way it’s put to me: They’re not going to go all in to get Durant.” Yikes!

Kevin Durant’s trade to the San Antonio Spurs would have certainly helped in getting the team to a championship contention level. If all goes well, the veteran might even add on to his legacy and get the third ring. However, that and partnering up with Victor Wembanyama weren’t the only reasons why the Spurs trade might attract Durant. It also comes with a financial incentive.

NBA Insider reveals Kevin Durant joining Spurs would have provided him a ‘Tax-Free’ incentive!

NBA players make big bucks. Even Milwaukee Bucks’ Tyler Smith, one of the lowest-paid players of the 2024-25 season, earned an annual salary of $1,157,153. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the highest-paid players on the team, made around $48.788 million each this season. However, just like the people who come to watch their games, the players’ pay is subject to taxes. Kevin Durant could have avoided paying one portion of it had he joined the San Antonio Spurs.

According to NBA writer Ryen Russillo, there is “no state income tax in Texas”. He highlighted this during a discussion with Bill Simmons on the latter’s show. Simmons was baffled upon hearing this, but Russillo continued by adding that “Oh yeah, huge advantage for the Stars”.

According to ‘VettaFi Advisor Perspectives’, the State Income Tax Rate to be paid by a player depends on where he lives, or the team he plays for. As a player for the Boston Celtics (Massachusetts), the State Income Tax Rate is 5.00% on the first $1 million in income, and 9% on income above $1 million (aka the “millionaire’s tax”). For Milwaukee Bucks (Wisconsin) players, the rate is up to approximately 7.65% under a progressive tax system. ‘Progressive’ means the rate increases with income.

Federal and other taxes already have a major impact on a player’s salary. Even a little relief would go a long way towards affecting a player’s net worth. Sure, Kevin Durant boasts a net worth of $101.4 million. However, he might not remain an NBA player after the next few years.

A trade deal between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns, for Kevin Durant, has still not been officially ruled out. However, it looks unlikely, as things stand.