Will Kevin Durant Be Traded Ahead Of NBA Trade Deadline?
What will happen at the NBA trade deadline this season?
This is the key question that many are asking right now with about 24 hours until the deadline, but one key factor that could control what happens at the trade deadline is the decision the Brooklyn Nets make in regards to Kevin Durant.
With Kyrie Irving being traded to the Dallas Mavericks, it seems like the Nets could be trending in a positive direction, especially given that they have Spencer Dinwiddie back in the fold and Cam Thomas has emerged as an electric scorer for this team. On the other hand though, Durant remains sidelined with his right MCL injury and there are question marks surrounding his availability.
Recently, league sources informed Fastbreak on FanNation that the Nets are not interested in trading Kevin Durant, yet his name continues to come up in trade discussions around the league.
Prior to the start of the 2022-23 season, Durant had requested a trade from Brooklyn due to the instability of the franchise and lack of championship moves stemming from the front-office. Ultimately, the two sides came to an understanding and everything has seemed to be alright up to this point.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant has been engaged in conversations with owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks on the direction of the franchise recently following the departure of Kyrie Irving.
Upgrading their roster around Kevin Durant seems to be the primary goal of the Brooklyn Nets a day before the NBA trade deadline, especially after they saved close to $8 million in salary and luxury tax by moving second-year forward Kessler Edwards to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. It is also worth noting that this move freed up a roster spot for the Nets to play around with ahead of the trade deadline.
However, as much as the Nets are wanting to add talent and upgrade their roster, rival teams have been hesitant to negotiate with them according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“The Nets, I’m not sure teams really want to do business with them right now. Because there’s at least some teams that are interested in seeing if they can get Durant. And why would I help the Nets do something to build around Durant when I’m just going to hold my assets for Durant,” Windhorst stated on a recent episode of his The Hoop Collective podcast. “There may be other teams that are not even interested in doing business with the Nets right now that might also hold assets at this deadline, with the mind towards Durant, not that Durant would be available by Thursday, but the Durant will be available again in the summer.”
This is a very interesting scenario Windhorst lays out because the idea of Durant becoming available in the offseason is much more believable than the idea of him being available in trade talks right now.
Should the Nets fail to advance far into the postseason again and their season ends prematurely to what they thought they could achieve, this could give Kevin Durant yet another reason to request a trade and this time stand behind his request in the offseason.
The Phoenix Suns are a team that showed a high level of interest in trading for Durant this past summer when he requested a trade and should he actually be available again, the other 28 franchises around the league will surely at least inquire about what it would take to trade for the superstar. One very interesting scenario to consider is a possible reunion between the Golden State Warriors and Durant.
This is not a report by any means, but Draymond Green has a $27 million player option for next season, James Wiseman will be entering the final year of his rookie contract and general manager Bob Myers remains without a contract heading into the summer.
Should Golden State fail to defend their championship, maybe this is an opportunity for them to reunite Kevin Durant with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, possibly relinquishing Draymond Green and some of their younger assets in the process. Again, there is nothing reported on this and none of this is inferring that a move like this could occur.
So this brings us back to the key question: Will Kevin Durant be traded ahead of the NBA trade deadline on Thursday?
There is always a possibility of anything happening in this league. With this said though, it does appear to be unlikely that Durant is moved within the next 24 hours.
Teams around the league though continue to be conflicted about what to do ahead of the deadline, especially since some are not wanting to give up assets that they could potentially use to swing a deal for the Nets’ superstar in the offseason.
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