Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has reportedly requested a trade, and he already has a pair of teams in mind that he would be open to moving to.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, Durant has listed the Phoenix Suns as his “preferred” trade destination.
Kevin Durant has the Phoenix Suns listed as a preferred trade destination, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 30, 2022
Durant, who does not hold a no-trade clause in his contract, will not have a shortage of suitors interested in completing a blockbuster move for him.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also noted that the Miami Heat are also on his “wish list.” From the Nets’ standpoint on this matter, they are aiming to simply go on and complete the “best possible deal.”
Phoenix and Miami are among two of the teams that Kevin Durant has on his wish list, sources tell ESPN, but the Nets plan to move Durant where they can get the best possible deal. With four years on his contract, there's no shortage of teams willing to unload assets for Durant.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022
Durant signed off on a four-year, $198 million extension with the Nets last August. As it stands, he has four seasons remaining on his current contract deal, which will include earning $42.9 million for the upcoming new campaign.
Unlike the Suns, the Heat have been linked with Durant for years now. For one, Heat president Pat Riley met with the 12-time All-Star during the hectic 2016 free agency period. In the end, he opted to take his talents to the Golden State Warriors.
Riley has reportedly not thrown in the towel on his aspiration to one day see Durant don a Heat jersey. A report from earlier this week mentioned that even as the Heat were heavily linked with the Nets' Kyrie Irving, they would have “far more interest” in orchestrating a trade for Durant over the veteran guard.
It remains to be seen on just how many teams plan to join the Durant sweepstakes in the coming days. Wojnarowski did recently note that if the Nets were to open the doors to offers for the veteran forward, “numerous teams around the league” would prepare to make a push to haul in the one-time NBA MVP award winner.
Durant is coming off of a season where, although an MCL injury in his left knee marred the second half of his campaign, he managed to feature in 55 regular season games for the Nets. He finished off the year with a 29.9 points per game average — his highest mark in eight years.
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