The Kevin Durant trade saga continues with no end in sight. While the reported inclusion of the Boston Celtics as a trade suitor for the Brooklyn Nets star inserted some intrigue into the situation this past week, a deal doesn't appear to be close. We're now heading into August and are less than two months away from training camps opening.
The Nets are asking for the world and are hoping Durant will ultimately rescind his trade request. If that doesn't happen, would KD be willing to pull a Ben Simmons and just sit out until a trade goes down?
According to ESPN's Zach Lowe, people around the NBA believe Kevin Durant is “not wired that way.” The thought process is KD just loves to hoop too much to sit out games.
But as Lowe also notes, this is pure “speculation.” We do know KD loves the game, but perhaps in this scenario he really would be willing to sit out to get what he wants. It would certainly be curious given a healthy Nets team would be a title contender with Durant, Kyrie Irving and Simmons, but maybe the well has been poisoned so much KD has no interest in playing for the franchise again.
It's a wild scenario after all the hubbub about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving teaming up in Brooklyn in 2019. The franchise has won just a single playoff series since and already saw the coming and going of James Harden. Simmons hasn't played a game for them yet. Irving's future with the Nets is very much in doubt after a drama-filled 2021-22 season, which played a role in Durant's trade request.
The Celtics make sense as a trade partner if they're willing to push their chips in, but they might not do that since they're a title contender already. The Phoenix Suns can't offer Deandre Ayton anymore for the time being. The Toronto Raptors don't want to include Scottie Barnes. The Miami Heat would prefer to not include Bam Adebayo, and Simmons would have to be traded if the Heat were willing to trade Bam to Brooklyn.
There's still a good amount of time left, but if training camp arrives and Kevin Durant isn't traded yet, it will be fascinating to see what he does.
Follow Us
Subscribe