Getty Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics.
The saga between Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets remains unresolved. Durant is not only sticking with his trade request, but he has also given Nets owner Joe Tsai an ultimatum – either trade him or get rid of Head Coach Steve and President of Basketball Operations Sean Marks.
In a meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai, Kevin Durant reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that Tsai needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash, sources say.
Story:
Tsai later made a public statement via Twitter that the coaching staff and the front office had his support, thus implying that if anyone’s leaving the team, it’s Durant.
Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.
In light of this new development, new reports have come out regarding which teams Durant would want to play for and which players he’d like to play with. Ian Begley reported the Boston Celtics as a preferred destination and that Durant would like to play with the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
Durant sees Boston as a desired landing spot, per people familiar with the matter. Durant also would like to play with Boston’s Marcus Smart if he is traded to the Celtics, per people familiar with the matter.
Making something like that happen would be tough, seeing Brooklyn reportedly would want Smart back in a trade for Durant, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added.
Not even that, Brooklyn previously wanted more from Boston in the earlier stages of their trade negotiations.
Brooklyn Asked For Both Brown and Jayson Tatum
Adam Himmelsbach reported that the Nets originally wanted the Celtics’ two best players in a deal for Durant, but the Celtics balked. Even when the Nets brought their offer down to Brown and Smart and draft assets, the Celtics did not change their stance.
According to the source, Brooklyn initially tried to pry both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown from Boston. That proposal went nowhere, of course. The source confirmed recent reports that Brooklyn later shifted its focus to a potential deal centered on Brown, Marcus Smart, and a massive haul of future first-round draft picks. But the Celtics were not interested.
Himmelsbach also went into detail regarding how the team handled Brown after it had been leaked that they had mentioned him in trade discussions. In short, it appears that there is an understanding.
When Brown’s name first appeared in Durant trade rumors a couple of weeks ago, the Celtics star tweeted “smh” (shaking my head), an apparent sign of frustration.
But a league source said Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and coach Ime Udoka communicate with Brown “all the time” and have kept him in the loop, adding that Brown seems to understand the situation.
Boston is not the only team that’s been recently linked with Durant.
Durant Interested in Playing For 76ers
Begley added in his report that the Philadelphia 76ers are another preferred destination for Durant.
In addition to Boston, Durant also sees Philadelphia as another welcome landing spot, per people familiar with the matter.
Begley also shared the kind of package that the 76ers would have to do to get a deal done for Durant. They’d have to give up their best players not named Joel Embiid or James Harden.
The Sixers would almost certainly have to include Tyrese Maxey in a trade for Durant. Given the dynamics at play, you’d think that Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle and other players/draft picks would be included.
The Nets are evidently looking for the best deal possible, but they have to keep in mind that if they made a trade with the Celtics or 76ers, they would be trading Durant to a division rival.