Moore: Here's a cheat sheet for the latest Phoenix Suns-Kevin Durant rumors

We’re looking at a standoff in the showdown over whether to bring Kevin Durant out West.

Cue the ocarina. (That’s that weird-sounding flute that plays in Westerns when the tumbleweeds roll between dueling gunfighters.) Cue the glare of a high-noon sun. Cue the vultures, circling high overhead.

It’s time to focus on the good, the bad and the ugly answers to the question: Is Kevin Durant going to the Phoenix Suns?

(The following represents highly informed and occasionally speculative answers to the most burning questions of the NBA offseason.)

Is Kevin Durant going to the Phoenix Suns?

If I can answer a question with a question, then here’s my answer: Yes? Maybe?

Durant is attempting to make an escape from New York, and in the NBA (as in life), deals aren’t dead until they’re dead. The Suns have players, picks and reportedly Durant’s blessing to negotiate a swap with the Brooklyn Nets.

OK, so what’s the holdup?

There are no real deadlines, it’s not like anybody is trying to catch the 3:10 to Yuma.

The Nets have all the advantages. Durant is under contract for several more years. He can’t just walk away and go to a new team.

Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks can afford to wait to see if he can squeeze a fistful of dollars or a few dollars more out of potential suitors.

What are the Suns offering?

Trying to get solid information from the Suns' front office is like trying to squeeze water from a rock in the desert.

But drips of news from here and there around the NBA leave the impression that the Suns don’t have enough picks or players for the Nets to be willing to part with Durant, the league’s most potent scorer.

From here, Suns General Manager James Jones should be willing to trade anybody but Devin Booker and Chris Paul to make this work.

(And even with that said, I’d consider shipping out Paul if the deal were sweet enough.)

Would the Suns include Devin Booker in a package to get Kevin Durant?

Absolutely not.

I’ll spare you the details, but since the Suns just gave Booker a raise, there are a ton of restrictions on when and how they can trade him.

Plus, just no. Absolutely not.

Devin Booker is on the cover of NBA 2K23, which marks him as the new sheriff in town.

Trading a guy like that isn’t a reasonable option.

What about Ayton? Is it true that the Nets don’t want him?

I hope it’s not true. I’d like to think the basketball decision-makers in Brooklyn know what they’re doing.

Deandre Ayton is 23 years old. (That’s the same age Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic were when they made their first All-Star teams.)

My guess is that he’s only getting started. The guy has great footwork, a soft jumper and an occasional mean streak. Plus, he helped take the Suns to the NBA Finals.

From here, Ayton has a lot in common with the league’s best big men, and I think he’s ready to take his place among them.

The offensive system in Phoenix has held Ayton back, but he could flourish with the right opportunity.

Is it true that Phoenix doesn’t want Ayton?

No, I don’t think so. It’s more likely that coach Monty Williams wants to run a spread and balanced, 3-point heavy offense, and a player with Ayton’s skills would only ever be worth so much with that strategy.

It’s all about fit. To think of it in Hollywood Western terms: You could use a team of Clydesdales to herd cattle, I guess? But why?

If the Suns were willing to make Ayton into a playmaker from the high post or let him bring the ball up with the option to shoot 3-pointers or create off the dribble, then he would be ideal.

But my guess is the team is committed to the “Point-5” offense that Williams has installed over the past three seasons, imploring his guys to shoot, drive or pass as soon as they catch the ball.

If the Suns aren’t going to feature Ayton, there’s no need for them to pay him maximum dollars.

What if the Suns can’t land Durant? Isn’t Ayton a great Plan B?

OK, here’s where things get tricky.

Ayton — like any of us — should want to get paid as much as possible. That’s especially true because Ayton has every reason to believe he’s worth top dollar (known in NBA circles as a “max contract,” which is not to be confused with a “supermax,” “TJ Maxx” or “Max Payne.”)

Ayton sacrificed much of his offensive game to fit in with the Phoenix system.

If the Suns don’t want to pay him and feature him, Ayton should explore his options.

If the Suns can’t orchestrate a deal where they sign Ayton to a max contract and then trade him, it could create a scenario where he plays for Phoenix next season and then becomes an unrestricted free agent.

That would mean that the Suns would have a disgruntled, budding star with some very good reasons to leave town. At that point, the Suns could try to trade him during the season or risk losing him and getting nothing in return.

(In technical jargon, Ayton has completed the four years of his rookie deal. Phoenix extended him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent. Under that qualifying offer, Ayton would be tied to Phoenix for one more season before he would become an unrestricted free agent in a class that would be highly favorable for a young star of his skills.)

It represents a worst-case scenario for the Suns GM.

So, could Phoenix keep Ayton?

Well, if you’re asking whether the Suns could end up with Ayton and Durant, then the answer is no. I can’t see that happening.

But Ayton could stay if Durant changes his mind and wants to remain in Brooklyn.

Or Ayton could find that no team is willing to pay him what he thinks he’s worth and decide to stay with the Suns to try to finish what they started when they went to the NBA Finals in 2021.

Or Ayton could look at the list of teams willing to pay top dollar for his skills and decide he doesn’t want to play for any of them.

(If I were Ayton’s agent, I’d be pushing hard for Charlotte.)

But if Brooklyn doesn’t want Ayton, then the deal is dead?

No, that’s not the case, at all. Three-team trades are pretty common.

So, is Kevin Durant going to the Phoenix Suns? Oh, nah?

If I can answer a question with a question, then here’s my answer: Yes? Maybe? I’m just over here rooting for the best story.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Is Kevin Durant going to the Suns? Here's Greg Moore's cheat sheet