There has seemingly been no traction on a Kevin Durant trade since his initial trade request at the end of June. He recently met with owner Joe Tsai to reinforce his desires. While teams like the Heat, Suns, and Celtics have made news for being Durant's most desired landing spots, a darkhorse team has worked themselves into the mix. Several sources have come out to say that Kevin Durant would welcome a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers to play alongside James Harden once again and join forces with Joel Embiid.
It’s hard to follow at times but yes Kevin Durant would like to play with James Harden, who was in London with Durant around the time Durant met with Nets ownership. (Maybe Harden, an expert at forcing trades, is serving as an advisor.) https://t.co/UnuXdndnSk
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) August 10, 2022
Adding Durant to form a big three with Embiid and Harden would give the Sixers the most top-end talent across the NBA. However, the path to landing him appears difficult. The Sixers are not eligible to trade a first-round pick until 2029 and the Nets already have the Sixers 2027 pick which came in the James Harden trade. If there is a deal to be done, it certainly would be built around Tyrese Maxey as the centerpiece. The 21-year-old took a massive leap forward in his second season as a pro and averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. He also increased his three-point percentage from 30.1% as a rookie to 42.7% last year. This long-range percentage was the third-best among the entire NBA.
Maxey has established himself as a key member of the Sixers and a potential building block moving forward. He also remains on his rookie contract which makes him an especially appealing trade asset. However, considering the asking price of Durant it would take significantly more to move the needle. Even the Sixers putting together their best offer (likely along the lines of Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and the 2029 first-round pick) feels short of what other teams around the NBA can bring to the table. This also would be a complete all-in move for the Sixers as Maxey is their most notable young piece and they are fairly empty of assets otherwise.
The news that Kevin Durant is interested in the Sixers is especially interesting considering his history with James Harden. The two obviously started their careers in Oklahoma City together but the season and a half they spend in Brooklyn together did not bring on the expected results. There seemed to be some hard feelings following the trade and understandably so. Harden and Durant appear to have mended their differences and they have been spotted together this offseason. The duo was seen backstage at a Travis Scott concert as well as overseason in London and Barcelona.
THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD 🌵 @trvisXX @KDTrey5 @JHarden13 pic.twitter.com/nuUZQ7Ajwq
— Overtime (@overtime) August 6, 2022
If there is anyone who can give advice on forcing their way to Philadelphia it is James Harden. While it did not work in Brooklyn it is clear there were some other factors that contributed to the dysfunction. Durant's request that he would rejoin the team if GM Sean Marks and Head Coach Steve Nash are both fired is further evidence of this. Philly has come a long way to establish a culture with Joel Embiid as the centerpiece and looks to have finally found the direction they were searching for. If the Sixers are able to put together this big three it would increase their championship hopes drastically. There is still certain to be more news surrounding the Durant situation, but if he lands on the Sixers it would be frightening for the rest of the NBA.
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