LOS ANGELES (AFP) – National Basketball Association superstar forward Kevin Durant is headed to the Phoenix Suns in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, US media reported on Wednesday.

The Nets were trading Durant and TJ Warren in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round draft picks, according to US outlets, including ESPN, which cited unnamed sources.

The blockbuster move, on the eve of the NBA's trade deadline on Thursday, follows Brooklyn's trade of Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, after Irving requested a move.

It also comes on the same day that US billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia made his debut as the new owner of the Suns, promising that he was "not going to be sitting here counting the dollars. I'm going to look at how can we improve our team."

Durant — a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals Most Valuable Player and a former NBA regular-season MVP — had requested a trade in June, less than a year after he inked a four-year, $198 million contract extension with the Nets.

He had reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with the direction of the franchise, which was swept in the first round of last season's playoffs despite having the star duo of Durant and Irving.

In August it became clear that Durant would remain in Brooklyn, but the club got off to a chaotic start this season.

They sacked head coach Steve Nash in November after a 1-5 start to the season.

Then Irving was suspended for eight games after a social media post publicizing a movie with anti-Semitic themes and declining to apologize.

Although the Nets fortunes had turned around under new coach Jacque Vaughn, Durant himself has been sidelined since 8 January because of a sprained ligament in his right knee.

On Tuesday, Vaughn told reporters that Durant "had a really good report" in his latest medical evaluation, although the team had offered no timeline on when he would return to the court.