Getty Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
In a survey conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN on August 30, 15 NBA Coaches, Scouts, and Executives voted on which team Kevin Durant would be on when the NBA Trade Deadline passes in 2023. While 13 of the 15 voted that he would stay on the Brooklyn Nets, one Western Conference executive voted that he would be on the Boston Celtics.
His reasoning was based on his belief that Durant will eventually be moved, and when he does, Jaylen Brown is the best return the Nets can hope for in a trade.
“Jaylen Brown is the best player they can get, and I think they’ll have to move him eventually,” the executive told Bontemps.
A Western Conference Scout who also participated in the survey also used Brown being the best player available as a reason why a Durant trade couldn’t get done.
“A lot of teams are like, ‘We aren’t getting what we want,’ but they’ll eventually settle,” the Scout told Bontemps. “If you’re not settling for Jaylen Brown, you’re not trading the guy. I think they’re doing this, and you’re hearing all this because they want people to know unless you blow our doors off, we’re just not doing it. I think it’s to show Durant, ‘Hey, we tried, but we couldn’t get value, so we’re keeping you. Sorry.'”
Durant rescinded his trade request on August 23.
Celtics Had Best Offer For Durant
After Durant had taken back his trade request, Shams Charania of The Athletic went on “The Rich Eisen Show” on August 24 to reveal that the Celtics had the best offer for Durant and who would be included in their offer besides Brown.
“The best offer, I’m told, that the Nets had on the table was from the Celtics,” Charania said. “Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a first-round pick.”
Charania then went on to explain why the Nets could not honor Durant’s public trade request.
“You could say that they might have been even asking for something that they know was never going to be attainable anyway. But, at the end of the day, when you have a guy who’s a 12-time All-Star, two-time Finals MVP. (He’s) going to go down in the Hall of Fame as one of the top 15 best players ever, you have a high asking price. That price was never going to be met.”
What happened in the Monday meeting with #BrooklynNets brass, head coach Steve Nash and Kevin Durant?
@ShamsCharania took us inside the talks that led KD to stay in New York:
The Nets clearly believed that they could get more for Durant than what Boston was offering, but could not find a better deal out there.
Brad Stevens Revealed Team’s Future Plans With Brown
The same day Durant took his trade request back, President of Basketball Operation went on the radio show, “Merloni, Fauria, and Mego” to talk about what the future holds between the Celtics and Brown.
“He is a huge core piece of what we’re doing and has been for six years now. We’re excited to hopefully put our best foot forward to have him here for a long time.”
Brad Stevens on Jaylen Brown (eligible for extension Oct. 1):
“He is a huge core piece of what we’re doing and has been for 6 years now. We’re excited to hopefully put our best foot forward to have him here for a long time.”
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Brown has two years left on the contract he signed with the Celtics back in 2019. He could sign an extension with the team, or he could test the waters of free agency in 2024.