Kevin Durant has already made it abundantly clear that he no longer wants to play for the Brooklyn Nets. Be that as it may, there hasn't been any real movement in terms of a potential trade for the former league MVP. ESPN's NBA guru Brian Windhorst believes that this could all be part of the Nets' sly ploy to keep KD in Brooklyn against his will.

According to Windhorst, he is of the belief that the Nets' ultimate objective is to come back next season with their core intact. They want KD to stay, and they could be making the necessary moves behind the scenes to make sure that this is the case (h/t NBA Retweet on Twitter):

“I think the Nets want to run this team back and they're hoping Kevin Durant agrees,” Windhorst stated. “The way they're conducting trade talks and the prices they are asking has teams out there thinking they don't really want to trade KD anyway. We'll see if KD goes along with that in camp.”

This actually makes a lot of sense. Multiple reports point to the notion that the Nets have slapped KD with a ridiculous asking price — one that is unrealistic enough to discourage potential suitors. May it be intentional or otherwise, the fact is that it's working. For now, at least.

Windhorst himself also suggested, though, that this high-risk play could ultimately backfire on the Nets. He suggested that Kevin Durant might be willing to sit out training camp as he anticipates a trade away from the team. If this happens, it definitely wouldn't be the first time a superstar goes on strike against his team. The Nets know about this all too well.