Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket as Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns
The Brooklyn Nets have been extremely patient since Kevin Durant requested a trade on July 30 just before the NBA free agency window opened. Brooklyn has made it clear that they will not settle on a deal until their price tag for the superstar is met. The Nets have been reported as wanting to acquire the biggest deal in NBA history in return for KD, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
.@wojespn with the latest on Kevin Durant’s trade request:
“[The Nets] think this should look like one of the biggest trade returns in league history.”
Brian Windhorst added on Monday July 11 that the trade market for Durant might not be what Brooklyn had anticipated. Following the Rudy Gobert trade and insane value that the Utah Jazz got back for the All-Star center raised the bar on what a successful Durant deal should look like and Brooklyn remains set to do so. However, with the recent reporting from Windhorst will they be able to do so?
“The price tag for Durant may not be as high as the Nets wanted,” Windhorst shared on the July 11 episode of ESPN’s Get Up.
One way Brooklyn may get added value to a deal is in a multiple-team deal. On July 11, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News shared a possible four-team deal for the Nets to deal Durant.
Nets Four-Way Durant Deal
The Phoenix Suns have been rumored in Durant whisperings since before the forward had even demanded a trade. Deandre Ayton remains at the heart of any Suns offer, and with the Indiana Pacers ready to submit an offer sheet or sign-and-trade for the Phoenix big man the clock may be ticking to get a deal done for Durant in Phoenix. So in Winfields proposed deal the Suns would remain in the trade for Durant but with an offer that sends Ayton to the Pacers in the sign-and-trade.
However, the Pacers aren’t the only team being added to the deal. The Utah Jazz, who have a decision to make about Donovan Mitchell, are the fourth team in Winfield’s proposal. Quite a few players get swapped in the deal so the proposal will be posted as it was written by Winfield.
NETS RECEIVE: G Donovan Mitchell (via UTA), F Bojan Bogdanovic (via UTA), F Mikal Bridges (via PHX), F Cameron Johnson (via PHX), 2023 first-round pick (from IND, via BOS),
SUNS RECEIVE: F Kevin Durant (via BKN), C Myles Turner (via IND)
JAZZ RECEIVE: F Joe Harris (via BKN), F Ben Simmons (via BKN), G Cam Thomas (via BKN), G Buddy Hield (via IND), 2023, 2025 & 2027 unprotected first-round picks (via PHX), top-5 protected 2029 first-round pick (via PHX), 2026 & 2028 first-round pick swap
PACERS RECEIVE: C Deandre Ayton (via PHX), G Mike Conley (via UTA)
When you consider each side of the deal, they all get something valuable in return. The Nets could perhaps get a better return, but four players that could make an impact. Considering the haul of picks Utah is again getting in a proposed deal, that may be something the Nets look to increase if possible.
Who Wins The Deal?
The deal benefits most sides in the proposed trade. Indiana gets who they want in free agency with Ayton along with veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr. Danny Ainge continues to stockpile picks while accelerating Utah’s rebuild. Phoenix becomes a lethal offensive threat by acquiring Durant and valuable big man Myles Turner. But Brooklyn adds a lesser superstar in Mitchell, but that is younger, and the pieces of Bridges and Johnson have major upside as well. Winfield wrote why it makes sense for Brooklyn in his article saying,
“Because you’ve replaced a soon-to-be 34-year-old megastar with a sensational 25-year-old offensive talent who has superstar potential with the right pieces around him. There is no situation where the Nets emerge unblemished after fumbling the Durant-Irving era three years in. What was supposed to be four more years of Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden “signed, sealed, and delivered” in Brooklyn has quickly become an era increasingly likely to feature none of the Big 3 who nearly delivered the Nets a championship two seasons ago. But if the Nets can somehow emerge victorious in the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes, past transgressions will quickly be forgotten. Mitchell is from Westchester, a two-or-so-hour-long drive from Barclays Center. Mikal Bridges placed second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season. Bojan Bogdanovic is an ex-Net who brings toughness, playmaking, and three-point shooting, and Cam Johnson is a nice, young piece as a three-and-D wing. The Nets also get a 2023 first-round pick from Indiana as part of the deal because, don’t forget, they just traded Kevin Durant.”
Will a deal get done? It remains hard to tell. This proposal having multiple teams and teams already looking to make deals does make it intriguing, though. However, there still remains the possibility the Nets keep Durant and don’t honor his request.