Getty Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Miami Heat in Game Three of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals
Just when things were getting quiet with the ongoing Kevin Durant trade rumors, Adrian Wojnarowski sent a hope-shattering tweet for Brooklyn Nets fans. All signs were suggesting that the Nets were preparing for Durant to return to Brooklyn with team’s unlikely to have the assets to accomplish the historic deal the Nets were looking for. However, one team might if they decide to part with one of their All-Stars, and that team is the Boston Celtics.
“ESPN Sources: As Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant’s trade request approaches its fourth week, the Boston Celtics have emerged among teams engaged in talks on a possible deal.” Wojnarowski tweeted.
With Jayson Tatum reportedly off limits, Wojnarowski shared what a potential trade package with the Celtics could look like.
“The Celtics consider All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum off limits in any trade talks, but Boston is able to construct a package for Durant that could include Brown and as many as three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, and 2029) — and two pick swaps (2024 and 2026),” Wojnarowski wrote.
The Celtics were even reported by to have offered a package that the Nets turned down. “The Boston Celtics have offered a Jaylen Brown package to the Nets for Kevin Durant, which Brooklyn turned down and countered,” Shams Charania of The Athletic tweeted.
Sources: The Boston Celtics have offered a Jaylen Brown package to the Nets for Kevin Durant, which Brooklyn turned down and countered.
Full details on a potential Celtics-Nets mega-deal to be had, latest on Donovan Mitchell and more at the Inside Pass:
Now, the Celtics are back with another possible trade proposal for the Nets.
New Celtics Proposal for the Nets
In a July 25 article from Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, an updated trade proposal from the Celtics was shared that could lure the Nets into a Kevin Durant deal.
In the deal:
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and a 2029 first-round pick swap.
Boston Celtics Receive: Kevin Durant
The previous deal that the Nets rejected included Brown, Derrick White, and draft picks. Now the Celtics would send this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart. Could this help finally push a Durant deal over the finish line? As training camp approaches, the Nets were reported to be ‘Looking to Drive the Market’ to avoid a training camp holdout from Durant.
Nets Worried About a Hold Out
Jared Weiss of The Athletic reported that trade talks for Durant may ramp up as they hope to avoid a ‘kerfuffle’ involving training camp, especially following the recent Celtics news.
“In the aftermath of Charania’s report, several league sources who spoke with The Athletic believe the Nets are looking to drive the market and avoid the kerfuffle of Durant no-showing for training camp,” Weiss wrote.
A week ago, it was believed that Durant was planning on possibly being back in Brooklyn and that even his trade request was to get away from Kyrie Irving. Dave McMenamin shared on a July 18 episode of The Lowe Post Podcast that “There’s a school of thought, speaking to people around the league, that they think that the Durant trade request wasn’t actually about him getting out of Brooklyn. It was about getting Kyrie out of Brooklyn.”
What happens in the following weeks with the Nets remains completely uncertain. Will trade talks with Boston heat up? Will other teams jump back into the mix? Only time will tell.