Kevin Durant shocked the basketball world on Thursday after demanding a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. After Kyrie Irving decided to opt into the final year of his deal with the Nets for next season, the general expectation was that these two were going to run it back for at least another year in Brooklyn.

At this point, it would not be surprising if every single team in the league is on high alert as they look to explore their options on a potential Kevin Durant trade. After all, this is one of the best players in the NBA today, and it would be foolish to pass up an opportunity such as this — regardless of how remote it might be — without doing your due diligence.

If you ask ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson, however, he believes that this development is reminiscent of when Kobe Bryant once tried to get himself traded from the Los Angeles Lakers. That obviously did not come to fruition:

“It reminds me of when Kobe Bryant asked for a trade,” Jefferson said, via ClutchPoints on Twitter. “He wanted to get traded and there was a lot of conversation about Chicago. And then [the Lakers] were like, ‘Well, this is our asking price for Kobe Bryant in his prime.' Chicago, they were gonna take everything that they can, and Kobe was like, ‘Nah, I'm good, because if I go there, there's not gonna be anything to play with.' … Kevin Durant, he's be better off staying in Brooklyn if he's gonna go to a team with no other superstar, no potential All-Star, no other talent. “

As Jefferson described, Kobe ended up staying with the Lakers because he realized that he would have a better shot at winning the title in LA. True enough, Bryant went on to win two more championships with the Lakers not long after.

According to Jefferson, this is the harsh reality KD is facing with the Nets right now. Any team that wants to trade for him will need to give up a massive haul, and will likely have nothing left when KD arrives. Such is the price that a superstar of Durant's caliber (or Kobe's) commands.