Amazingly, the Boston Celtics have been close to landing Kevin Durant on three separate occasions in the last two decades.
First, at the 2007 NBA Draft Lottery, Celtics had the second-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick, using which then-GM Danny Green wanted to draft Durant. Instead, the C’s landed the No. 5 overall pick, which they instead used in the Ray Allen trade.
Then, during the 2016 free agency period, the Celtics aggressively courted Durant, who ultimately picked the Golden State Warriors. In subsequent interviews, the 2014 MVP revealed he very close to choosing the Celtics over the Warriors.
Finally, in 2022, the Celtics offered a Jaylen Brown-centered package to the Brooklyn Nets with hopes of finally landing Durant. The Nets ultimately traded Durant to the Phoenix Suns for a pick-heavy package also including Mikal Bridges.
Could 2026 be the year when the Celtics finally land their white whale? A new Celtics trade idea doing the rounds would allow Joe Mazzulla’s team to form a new Big 3 of Jayson Tatum, Paul George and Durant while holding onto Payton Pritchard.
Celtics Trade Idea Lands KD
Celtics would receive: Kevin Durant
Rockets would receive: Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Luke Garza, 2027 first-round pick (via BOS), 2028 second-round pick (via SAS)
Why the Celtics Do It
As great as Derrick White is defensively, he’s become somewhat of an offensive liability for the Celtics. Last season, he shot a paltry 32% from three — a league-low for players attempting 8.0 or more shots from deep. Many felt that White, who shot in the late 30s the previous three seasons, would escape his shooting funk in the playoffs. But that didn’t happen — White shot a terrible 27% from three in the playoffs as the the Celtics shockingly blew a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The loss of White would sting. But Payton Prichard’s ability to run the point, not to mention his underrated defense, should help fill the void.
A starting five of Pritchard, George, Durant, Tatum and Mitchell Robinson (or Neemias Queta) sounds exciting. There’s a lot of shotmaking, size and defensive versatility in there, with George, Durant and Tatum all rated as good to solid perimeter stoppers.
The best part about this hypothetical trade is that Durant has a $46M player option for 2027-28, giving the C’s a potential two-year window with the Tatum-PG-KD trio. If the experiment doesn’t work, both KD and George will be easier to move on expiring deals.
Why the Rockets Do It
Derrick White has a longstanding history with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka. The All-Defensive guard played on San Antonio Spurs teams assistant coached by Udoka, and was then part of Celtics’s 2022 Finals roster coached by Udoka.
Both White and Udoka have been highly complimentary of each other over the years. When Udoka secured the Houston job in 2023, White explained why the Rockets were getting a great basketball mind to lead their program.
“I mean, obviously I was with him in San Antonio [where] I started my career so I saw him there but then [I got to see] a different light of him as a head coach. He’s definitely a good basketball mind and he’s going to do a good job,” White said of Udoka.
The Rockets could use a vocal leader like White to lead their young core of Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason. Sam Hauser is the exact type of sharpshooter their second unit could use. Plus, a future first-round and second-round pick doesn’t hurt. This could be a great haul for Houston.
Celtics Proposed to Land Kevin Durant in Derrick White-Centered Trade