Kevin Durant has been the hottest name in rumors and reports as Thursday’s NBA trade deadline approaches.

But that heat appears to be cooling off. Amid reports that the Warriors would like to reunite with Durant, that feeling reportedly isn’t mutual.

Per the Stein Line and ESPN’s Shams Charania, Durant has no interest in reuniting with Golden State.

The decision’s ultimately not up to Durant. He has a contract that runs through the end of the 2025-26 season, and he does not have a no-trade clause.

The question then becomes: Would the Warriors be willing to pull the trigger on a deal for a player who’s reportedly expressed a clear desire not to play in Golden State? And that would be dependent on a deal being worked out in the first place. It adds up to a lot of barriers to Durant being moved before the deadline — to Golden State, at least.

Kevin Durant reportedly doesn’t want to return to Golden State. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

It’s not clear from the reports why Durant’s disinterested in joining the Warriors. Durant played three of his prime seasons in Golden State, where he won two championships and two Finals MVP trophies playing alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

But those were different Warriors teams. Thompson is gone, Green is not nearly the impact player he was and Curry’s on the back end of his prime. The current iteration of the Warriors is one that will fight just to make it into the playoffs. His first run with the Warriors also wasn’t necessarily warm and fuzzy all the way around.

If Durant to the Warriors is, indeed dead, the question then becomes: Will the Phoenix Suns try to move Durant to another team? And, if so, why? It’s hard to picture a move for Phoenix that ships Durant out that actually makes them better.

Jimmy Butler, a longtime rumored target of the Suns, certainly doesn’t make a Suns team better without Durant. And at 35 years old, Butler doesn’t make them appreciably younger.

Whatever happens, this will all be settled in less than 24 hours.