Getty Sean Marks at a press conference.
Kevin Durant remains a member of the Brooklyn Nets despite it being a month after his June 30 trade request. The superstar, in a call with Nets governor Joe Tsai, asked to be dealt from the franchise hours before the NBA free agency period began, and a lot of transactions have been put on hold as a result. Durant isn’t the only star player on the trade block holding things up. Donovan Mitchell, who the Nets have been linked to is also believed to be being shopped by the Utah Jazz.
Both the Jazz and Nets are reported to be seeking a major return for their franchise players. When Utah got a major package for trading away Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it looked to be a good sign for the Durant trade negotiations, however, it has only helped dampen any requests. Because of what the Jazz got back in the Gobert trade, it set the market and has made it virtually impossible for one single team to put together a trade package for Kevin Durant.
The Heat have been reported to be looking desperately for a third team to be a part of their trade negotiations, but to no avail. Will another team be able to find a third trade partner and acquire Durant? Ian Begley from SNY does not believe so.
Teams Don’t Want to Help Brooklyn in Trade Negotiations
As the season gets closer, many minds are turning to the possibility of Durant returning to Brooklyn. Begley wrote about this in a recent article and why there is growing pessimism around the Durant talks.
“Part of the pessimism stemmed from the idea that, as of last month, there was little appetite in the market for teams to serve as a third or fourth team to facilitate a Durant trade.
‘No one wants to help (Brooklyn get a deal done),’ one team remarked.” Begley writes.
In most scenarios, there isn’t a team that can meet Brooklyn’s asking price for Durant, besides maybe the Boston Celtics with their Jaylen Brown offer and if they include Marcus Smart and another role player in the deal as well. So for the other NBA teams, they will need to include another partner in the deal, but other teams remain hesitant to do so.
Kevin Durant Meeting with Nets
A meeting between the Nets and Durant was reported to be taking place this week. The results of the meeting will likely determine if the Nets continue looking for a historic haul for Durant if the situation does get messier. They have to swap KD for a less exciting package in return or Durant returning to Brooklyn next year.
All remain possibilities. If Durant was to return to Brooklyn, the team has made some solid pickups this offseason, and once his decision is final can make the steps to add the final touches to their roster for the season. The team has been linked to free agent big man Dwight Howard or could look towards other pieces as training camp quickly approaches.