Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket as Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns
The Brooklyn Nets are dealing with a Kevin Durant trade request this summer, and it seems like they are having a bit of trouble getting him moved.
Durant named the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns as his preferred landing spots back in June when he made the request, but he’s also been linked to his former team the Golden State Warriors.
Coming off a championship, the Warriors could get even stronger by adding Durant. Multiple options have been discussed, such as a swap involving first-time All-Star Andrew Wiggins, but that would have to mean the Nets have to trade Ben Simmons.
Simmons being on the team makes things complicated because of his maximum rookie contract extension that prevents him from being paired with another player that signed a similar deal. That applies to Wiggins, which is why trades like that create a headache.
As it turns out, the Nets might not even have to deal with any of that as Warriors general manager Bob Myers seemingly shut down the Durant rumors.
Door Closed?
In an interview with NBA.com, the Warriors GM spoke about how he’s happy with where his team is at, which makes sense considering they are fresh off a championship.
“I like our team and where it’s at,” Myers told NBA.com. “I want to give the guys a chance to do it again.”
Trading for Durant would mean a lot of important pieces would be on the move. Of course, keeping the core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green while adding Durant would still be a championship team, but Myers doesn’t seem open to it.
“We kept most of it together, but we have to stay healthy,” he said. “I didn’t think we’d make it last year, but we did. I watch like you do. We’ll see what happens.”
With Jordan Poole becoming an honorary Splash Brother last season, the Warriors have to be happy with where they’re at, and while the Nets would love to get their hands on him, it doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
“It’s a good group. We’re lucky. It’ll be fun to see,” Myers said. “We were really hunting last year. Now I guess we’re back to being the hunted, which I didn’t think we’d be. We’ll see. I think we can handle it.”
Where Do the Nets Go Now?
“From what I understand, the trade talks involving Kevin Durant have slowed to a trickle.”
(via @GetUpESPN)
With the one-month anniversary of Durant’s trade request rapidly approaching, there doesn’t seem to be much traction on a deal.
The timing doesn’t seem good either as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports talks have slowed to nearly a halt.
“From what I understand, the trade talks involving Kevin Durant have slowed to a trickle,” he said. “You can still get some Nets folks on the phone if you wanna make an offer, but they are not aggressively, I am told, making outgoing calls.”
A trade can still happen, but if the Nets are hoping for a big haul in return for their superstar, they might have another thing coming.
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