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Just when it seemed all the talks of a potential Kevin Durant trade had come to a halt, the Boston Celtics emerged as serious contenders to land the 12-time All-Star. On July 25, NBA insider Shams Charania of “The Athletic” reported that the defending Eastern Conference champions had offered the Brooklyn Nets a trade package centered around their All-Star Jaylen Brown, to which the Nets declined.
“The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, sources said. The proposal was rejected, “Charania said. “Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks, and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added.”
One Eastern Conference executive thinks the timing of the reports revealing the trade package the Celtics offered the Nets is eyebrow-raising. They also believe the news leak came directly from the Nets.
“The timing is the strange part, you know? It’s pretty clear this is something that came from the Nets,” the executive said to Heavy’s Sean Deveney.
“There’s no way the Celtics wanted any of this to come out. Now it is something the Celtics have to deal with, they have to put things together with (Jaylen) Brown, there will be a whole bunch of questions out there in training camp and into the season.”
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NBA Exec: Nets, Celtics Trade Talks Are Old
When the bombshell news of Durant hitting the trade market came out, every team in the league was scrambling to put together packages in hopes of landing the Nets star.
As one of the best players in the league, every general manager in the NBA was salivating at the prospect of having Durant. Adding him to any roster would put a team amongst the top title contenders. The executive says the news of the Celtics emerging as contenders was a result of their front office doing their due diligence.
“This is something that, you know, these talks are old. When the Durant stuff first hit, everyone called the Nets, of course, you have to. The Celtics had their conversation and they moved on,” the executive added.
“So, for it to come back and come out now, it tells you that the Nets are frustrated that they’re not getting the offers they want for Durant, and they want to jumpstart the process. I’m sure if you’re the Celtics, you’re saying, ‘Why us?’ The Nets could have leaked any number of talks they had. But for the Nets, they’re trying to tell everyone, ‘Hey, Jaylen Brown and picks, that’s the floor.’”
Woj: Brooklyn Doesn’t Want to Trade Durant
Durant’s bombshell trade request came as a surprise because less than a year ago he signed a 4-year, $198 million contract extension to remain with the franchise. But with so many question marks surrounding Brooklyn’s future, Durant wants to move on.
The All-Star forward has been linked to just about every contender with a surplus of assets to include in a trade for him. And the Nets have worked actively to find a fair return for Durant to honor his request. But ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski says the Nets would prefer to keep him.
“Look, Brooklyn doesn’t want to trade Kevin Durant. This is perhaps the best player in the league. He’s 33 years old, will be 34 before the season starts, and clearly still at the apex of his talent,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s Get Up! via NetsDaily.
“In a perfect world, the Nets would bring back Kevin Durant and pair him, of course, with Kyrie Irving and then see how it works with Ben Simmons once he’s healthy and playing again for the Nets. But again, Brooklyn is trying to find a deal for Durant but with four years left on his deal, they don’t have to rush into any trade and they want back what they want back which is a massive/historic haul.”
The Kevin Durant trade saga doesn’t look like it will be ending anytime soon. It will be interesting to see what the outcome will be.
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