It was several months ago that Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant requested a trade from the organization before pulling said request back.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP was not happy about the direction of the Nets after an ugly sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Fast forward to the week of the in-season NBA trade deadline, and there’s no further clarity on Brooklyn’s direction.
In fact, Monday’s trade of star guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks complicates things further. It has led to some speculation that KD could turn around and request a trade from the Big Apple again.
With roughly 48 hours to go ahead of the deadline, we now have some updates on this situation. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Durant is engaged in talks with the Nets about the direction of the organization. Meanwhile, the possibility that he is dealt ahead of Thursday’s deadline seems remote.
“In the aftermath of the Kyrie Irving trade, the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant are having ongoing conversations on the direction of the franchise, but (the) orgnaization has thus far told inquiring teams that they’re not planning to trade him before Thursday’s deadline.”
Report on Kevin Durant situation with the Brooklyn Nets
There is some wriggle room left in this report. “Not planning to trade.” As we saw with Irving, things can change on a dime. The All-Star requested a trade from Brooklyn on Friday. Within less than 48 hours, reports broke that Irving had been dealt to the Dallas Mavericks.
Related: Ideal Kevin Durant trade scenarios ahead of NBA trade deadline
Kevin Durant holds all of the chips heading into NBA trade deadline
In reality, all of this depends on Durant. If he does indeed request a trade, the entire dynamics change in Brooklyn. Right now, general manager Sean Marks is turning over every stone ahead of the deadline to provide him more help.
The background here is a report that Ben Simmons could be moved. Apparently, Durant is not enthralled with the idea of the enigmatic Simmons being his primary running partner moving forward now that Irving has left the Nets.
- Kevin Durant stats (2022-23): 29.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 56% shooting, 38% 3-point
Despite currently being sidelined with a knee injury, Durant remains one of the five-best players in the NBA today. His status in Brooklyn will dictate whether the team looks to go all in and build a contender or start anew with a rebuild.
Meanwhile, contending teams throughout the NBA world would bend over backwards to acquire Durant in a trade with the Nets. This includes the Phoenix Suns out west and Brooklyn’s Eastern Conference rivals in that of the Miami Heat, among other teams.
The question here is whether it’s even possible for Brooklyn to pull off a trade of this magnitude in 48 hours.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated NBA trade tracker
Wojnarowski did follow up his previous report by indicating that Kevin Durant had interest to go to the Phoenix Suns after he requested a trade last summer. Phoenix could very well be one of a “number of teams” that have reached out to the Nets about Durant. However, Brooklyn’s unwillingness to engage makes it highly unlikely a blockbuster happens ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Rather, this is something we should keep an eye on during the summer months should things not go swimmingly for KD and Brooklyn to close out the 2022-23 season.