Somers: Time will tell, but June 30 felt like a watershed day in Arizona sports, good and bad

Expansion and contraction, that’s what the last day of June 2022 delivered to Arizona sports fans.

First, there was the news no one saw coming: Southern California and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024. That will give the Big Ten 16 schools and the Pac-12 10, which makes about as much sense as anything else happening in major college athletics.

Then, there was confirmation of the news a lot of folks saw coming: Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant asked for a trade, and according to several reports, would prefer the destination to be Phoenix or Miami.

Thursday, Suns fans probably had to remind themselves to expand and contract, too. As in to breathe in and out as they daydreamed of a lineup featuring Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Durant.

In sports, and life, there are days that set people and organizations upon certain paths that deviate sharply from the well-worn ones they had been traveling. Subsequent events will determine if Thursday was that kind of day for the Suns, Sun Devils, Wildcats and the conference-still-known-as-the-Pac-12, but it felt like it.

Gut punch: Departures of UCLA, USC are seismic blow to Pac-12

There are all kinds of complications to the Durant-to-Phoenix deal — we’ll get to those in a while. But the departures of UCLA and USC to greener pastures, or pastures in general, is a done deal.

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Their departures leave the Pac-12 with a lot of questions, most notably: Will there be a Pac-12?

Perhaps we should have all seen this coming over the last decade or so, as the Pac-12 fell woefully behind other major conferences, especially in the amount of money generated by football.

The Pac-12 Networks proved to be a boondoggle, and as other conferences cashed in via mega-television contracts, Pac-12 schools cashed considerably smaller checks and fell further behind.

A year ago, Oklahoma and Texas announced they were leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. ESPN reportedly was a driving force in making that happen, and rival Fox is apparently playing a large role in the Big Ten expanding.

So, where does that leave the Pac-12? Adding, say, Boise State and San Diego State will keep the conference at a dozen schools, but that’s the only needle they move.

What Oklahoma, Texas, and now USC and UCLA have taught us, is that it’s every school for itself. Presidents of Pac-12 schools traditionally have not thought like that, and the conference over the years has denied entry to schools not viewed as traditional research universities. BYU, or example.

ASU and Arizona would be smart to find a home of their own (the Big 12?), rather than wait for someone else to broker a deal.

On a broader scale, what would make more sense is for major college football, and perhaps basketball, to become its own entities, not under the auspices of the NCAA. A funding formula that adequately and fairly pays schools and players is desperately needed, as the lawlessness that has resulted from the legalization of NIL has proven.

That’s not going to happen, of course, so what we’re going to get every summer now are breathless news reports of schools of conference realignment. Maybe the creation of super conferences, which is where we seemed headed, will lead to better solutions, but I’m dubious.

But, hey, Durant.

The prospect of Durant becoming a Sun is a much more fun topic, especially since it’s not a fantasy. Durant, per reports, would love to play in Phoenix, which is a testament to what General Manager James Jones and Coach Monty Williams have built in three years.

The price, however, would be steep. It would make sense for the Suns to make that deal for a handful of players, including Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges, and some draft picks, including all the Nets want.

But the Nets reportedly aren’t enthralled with Ayton. The Suns aren’t trading Booker, even if collective bargaining rules allowed, and besides, Booker is a big reason Durant has Phoenix on his short list.

Even if the Nets wanted Ayton, Ayton might not want the Nets, which would leave them looking elsewhere for a trade partner.

Also, Durant has four years left on his contract. It’s not as if he earned much good will with the Nets, who likely would be inclined to take the best trade offer available rather than to accept one because it appeases Durant.

But NBA players of that ilk tend to get what they want, and with the Paul trade, Jones showed he’s not afraid to pay a heavy price for an aging star he believes could help the Suns win their first championship.

On Thursday, you couldn’t blame Suns fans for being breathless thinking of that possibility. And on Thursday, you couldn’t blame ASU fans who were gasping for a reason that was a lot less enjoyable.

Reach Kent Somers at Kent.Somers@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @kentsomers. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Breathe, Arizona sports fans: Suns eye Durant, LA schools leave Pac-12