Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets drives against Garrett Temple #41 of the New Orleans Pelicans
The Brooklyn Nets are still amid trade negotiations for their superstar forward Kevin Durant, who made his request known to the Nets on June 30, after getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Nets general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai have vowed not to move Durant unless they get a trade offer that is substantial enough for a player of his caliber. So far, they have held firm in their stance.
While the Nets have had conversations surrounding a trade for their franchise star, there has been little movement on any potential Durant trade as no team has been willing to match the Nets’ asking price.
All signs point to Durant at least beginning the season on Brooklyn’s roster with training camp just weeks away. But with Durant’s availability being a known faction around the NBA, teams are still poking around to see if the Nets have made their asking price more attainable. According to NBA Insider Shams Charania of “The Athletic”, one of those teams is the 2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks.
“The Philadelphia 76ers expressed recent interest in Durant while the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets also inquired with the Nets in late June and early July to gauge the price tag, according to sources,” Charania wrote in an August 22 report.
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Celtics, Raptors, Heat ‘Serious Threats’ To Land Durant
Durant has proven that he is still one of the NBA’s best players despite coming off a near career-ending injury in 2019. This version of KD might be the best the NBA has ever seen, and a 2021 campaign where he averaged 29.9 points per game proves that. As a result, multiple teams are keeping tabs on the Nets as it pertains to the All-NBA forward’s availability.
Although several teams have inquired about Durant’s availability Charania named the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat, as the most serious threats to land the 2014 NBA MVP.
“The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat remain among the most serious threats to land Durant because they have the types of pieces necessary to satisfy the Nets’ asking price in a deal for the two-time NBA Finals MVP,” Charania added.
“However, no one yet has met Brooklyn’s high price tag of an All-Star, other high-level players and draft picks — and conversations with those three front-runners have been non-existent recently.”
Teams Unwilling To Give Up Best Player in Durant Deal
If Durant is eventually traded by the Nets, it won’t be like the offseason blockbuster that sent Rudy Gobert to the Jazz for a historic number of draft picks. The Nets have been adamant about wanting a Durant trade to benefit them now as they want to remain title contenders.
Charania says that although the Heat, Celtics, and Raptors are among the serious threats to land the 12-time All-Star, neither team has shown an interest in parting ways with their best player.
“The Celtics offered All-Star Jaylen Brown, guard Derrick White, and a first-round draft pick in July, according to league sources; the Raptors have refused to make Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes available; and Miami has yet to seriously engage with a package around All-Star Bam Adebayo,” Charania writes.
Just as the trade talks for Durant seemingly had hit a standstill they are once again picking back up. It will be interesting to see what the result is.
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