Day one, day two, day three, day four, will Kevin Durant ever walk through that door? Free agency arrived a few days ago, and yet Kevin Durant – not a free agent – appears to be on the move. The 12-time NBA All-Star has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets and his preferred destinations reportedly include the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat. NBA fans are at the edge of their seats waiting for Woj bombs, Sham slams and Windhorst tweets.
According to The Athletic, Kevin Durant would only want to play for the Heat if the roster included Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry. Wanting to keep that trio intact makes a Heat trade much more difficult to accomplish due to the lack of other large contracts at Miami’s disposal. The Heat would almost assuredly need to offload one of them to make the salaries in this blockbuster deal match, and they would likely prefer including Lowry’s contract over Adebayo’s, who the Nets reportedly have their eyes on. (P.S. Jimmy isn’t going anywhere.)
That being said, we can assume any Heat trade package to acquire Durant would be centered around Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. The offer would likely include an array of first round picks, first round pick-swaps, and No. 27 overall pick of last months draft Nikola Jovic. If that isn’t enough, the Heat could also include any of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, or Omer Yurtseven – all outperforming their minimum contracts, meaning they carry real value at their current price. The obstacles in Miami’s way make landing Durant unlikely, but there’s one person who can never be counted out: “The Godfather”, Pat Riley.
As for the Phoenix Suns, it’s hard to imagine them trading Devin Booker or Chris Paul for Durant. Executing a trade involving either of those two automatically makes the Suns a less attractive destination for any incoming star. The Suns could sign-and-trade Deandre Ayton and route Mikal Bridges, first round picks, and other sweeteners to Brooklyn.
NBA insider Jake Fischer wrote a Bleacher Report article on what the Nets are looking for in return for their all-time talent:
From Brooklyn’s perspective, sources said, there’s no deal to land Durant in Phoenix that doesn’t start with sending back Devin Booker to Barclays Center. The Suns, of course, would likely hold the line firm. But early indications are the Nets brass is not particularly inclined to take a sign-and-trade that brings back restricted free agent Deandre Ayton.
Could there be an appealing package out there that does not include Adebayo or Booker? It’s possible a team currently not on Durant’s wish list – like the Toronto Raptors – could offer a package of former all-stars, young and talented wings, as well as multiple first round picks.
Plausible deals aside, the Nets are almost guaranteed to take an L in any trade where they lose one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. The sooner they come to grips with that fact and find the best deal for their squad, the sooner we NBA fans can move on with our summers.
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