The Philadelphia 76ers previously expressed interest in acquiring Kevin Durant when the Brooklyn Nets star asked for a trade in the 2022 offseason. Now according to a report, the Sixers could ask again with the Brooklyn franchise in chaos.

According to an Eastern Conference exec who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, the Sixers certainly remain interested in trading for Durant. However, the bigger question is whether the Nets would engage considering the James Harden fiasco.

“There is no doubt the Sixers have asked on Durant, they did in the summer, and will keep asking about him,” the anonymous NBA exec explained. “But the Nets are going to be a little put off by them already because of the Ben Simmons thing because they feel like they were set up to give away James Harden all along. So the Sixers burned them once, do the Nets want to go back and say, OK, sure, we’ll do a KD deal, too.”

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If the Sixers are serious about pursuing Durant, there is also the question of what they would be willing to give up. Sure enough, Tyrese Maxey needs to be in the package to even get things started.

“The main thing is, though, does Tyrese Maxey get put into the deal? Because then the Nets have to listen, they might not get a better young player than him in any deal they make for Durant. Maxey, Tobias Harris, and (Matisse) Thybulle would work, but the Nets would not get any picks in the deal because Philly can’t offer any right now. If that is all that is on the table, Brooklyn would have to pass,” the unnamed exec added.

Of course all these are just speculations as of the moment. Many people are calling for the Nets to trade Kevin Durant since they believe the team is wasting his prime years amid all their issues and dysfunction. Nonetheless, as everyone has learned during the summer, Brooklyn won't be sending him away unless they get something significant in return.

The Nets are also playing better recently since Jacque Vaughn took over as head coach, so it is more than likely that Brooklyn sees first how far they can go after their recent changes.