Subscribe
Follow Us
Well, the Brooklyn Nets are starting to fall apart… again. Kevin Durant and co. have started the season 2-6, and somehow that doesn't encapsulate how disastrous this season has been. From Kyrie Irving's anti-Semitic Tweets to the firing of Steve Nash to Ben Simmons, there has been plenty of drama surrounding this roster.
Amid all of this chaos, there's one thing that's on many fans' minds: is it time for a Kevin Durant trade? Remember, the star requested a trade away from the Nets last season. At first, we thought that the drama has finally solved itself. With everything's that happening in Brooklyn, though, it seems likely that KD will hit the trade market, whether it's by his choice or not.
Naturally, there will be plenty of teams angling for a Kevin Durant trade. Among all these teams, which ones should not pull the trigger on a trade for the Nets star? Let's take a look.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors arguably have the best assets for a potential Kevin Durant trade. They flew under the radar for most of the off-season, but started gaining traction as a dark-horse candidate towards the end. They have the right mix of intriguing talent and picks to offer to the Nets… but they shouldn't.
Toronto has looked pretty good to start this season, and a big part of that is the supposed core of a Kevin Durant trade. O.G. Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr have looked really good in their roles (with Anunoby getting some early DPOY whsipers). Scottie Barnes has improved significantly from three-point range. And most importantly, their experiment of throwing long forwards at their opponents seems to be working so far.
The Raptors are seeing success with their roster-building experiment. Throwing all of that away for Kevin Durant in a trade seems incredibly short-sighted, especially with how tight the Eastern Conference is right now.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have been linked to Kevin Durant from the moment the Nets star made his trade request. There was a time when it felt like a KD-LeBron reunion in Tinseltown was all but guaranteed. The Lakers bowed at the last moment, though, but there's a possibility that they go for this trade. After all, they started the season 2-5, right?
Article Continues Below
Well, not so fast. It's true that the Lakers have had struggles this season. However, they have been much, much better than their record indicates. Russell Westbrook has adjusted to his new bench role quite well, and the rest of the team has found their three-point stroke that eluded them to start the year. There's a really good chance that this Lakers roster turns their fortune around this year.
Trading for Kevin Durant now would erase any sort of chemistry the Lakers have been building. It's not like Durant addresses their biggest need (reliable three-point shooting from spot-up shooters). In fact, a KD trade could complicate matters further for them.
Miami Heat
The Heat were one of the first front-runners to acquire Kevin Durant when he requested a trade. However, they quickly moved down the ranks as they didn't have a strong offer that could satisfy Durant. With the Nets imploding, should Miami take a chance again at trading for the star?
The short answer is no, they shouldn't. The Heat face the same problem that they faced in the offseason: any trade for KD would surely gut their roster to oblivion. Brooklyn has already said that they won't be listening to offers without Bam Adebayo. Trading Adebayo (along with presumably Tyler Herro) would completely kill this team's depth at the center position.
The Heat should simply just step away from this whole discussion about Kevin Durant. It's simply not worth it for them.
