Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans
The Golden State Warriors explored a potential mega-trade this summer when Kevin Durant sought a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, and one NBA insider believes they might try again if the former league MVP finds his way back to the trade block.
The Nets have gotten off to a rocky start, stumbling to 5-7 while attracting plenty of off-the-court drama surrounding Kyrie Irving and his indefinite suspension. As Heavy Sports insider Sean Deveney noted, Durant would have a high trade value and could end up on the block if the Nets are unable to turn around their season. One Western Conference executive believes the Warriors could become a viable option if that were to happen.
Warriors Could Target Former Star
Though Durant’s exit from Golden State in 2019 was anything but clean, reports over the summer indicated that the Warriors would have been open to a reunion if the Nets went through with trading him. While Durant ultimately met with Nets owner Joe Tsai and the two sides mended fences, the Western Conference executive told Deveney that there could still be an opening for him to return to Golden State.
29 PTS | 12 REB | 12 AST
@KDTrey5 was in the lab 🧪
“It’s a nice idea, having the stars that they have and then thinking that a wave of young guys behind them will step in and be a championship kind of group, too,” the West executive said. “But that was always a best-case scenario kind of thing. It happens a lot more that these guys are just too young and might not reach the potential they think they have. If you want to win another (championship) with Steph (Curry), you have to be open to making the mega-blockbuster kind of deal. That’s what getting Durant back would be.”
Warriors Would Need to Break Up Youth Movement for Durant
While Durant would not come cheap to any potential trade partner, Deveney believes that the Warriors could have the assets to land him — though it would require blowing up their “two-timeline” plan. He suggested that the Warriors could trade Draymond Green along with James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga, along with either a first-round pick or rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr.
That package would put the Warriors all-in at winning another title during Steph Curry’s peak, but would come at the expense of the franchise’s plan to build a contending team around their young players. While both Kuminga and Wiseman have struggled this season, they are still seen as key building blocks for the future, and Baldwin may be prized above both of them.
A Western Conference executive told Deveney in October that the Warriors see the rookie as the best fit for the team among the crop of young players, though will take time to develop.
Rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins are headed to Santa Cruz. t.co/VpNnDpEZUg
“The thing about Kuminga and all those young guys they have is that, if you ask people in that team, they like Patrick Baldwin Jr. better,” the executive told Deveney. “They may like him more than all of their young guys in the end. They’re going to go slow with him, but I would expect to see him in the rotation at some point. Positionally, he fits better than the other young guys except [for] Wiseman. But they think he is going to be a really, really good stretch-four in the league, and they do not have that on the roster right now.”