Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, putting one of the greatest players in NBA history is officially on the trade market. Durant is about to a start new four-year contract extension that will pay him $194 million over the course of the deal.
Durant reportedly has two teams on his preferred list of destinations: the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns. Each team earned the No. 1 seed in their respective conference in last year’s playoffs, but failed to advance to the NBA Finals.
Rumors of Durant’s potential departure from the Nets started when the franchise refused to give Kyrie Irving the long-term, max contract he was seeking. Instead, Irving opted into the final year of his deal with Brooklyn for $36 million. Now both players are very likely to be traded this offseason and never play another game for the Nets. Durant reportedly requested a trade from the Nets because they would not give Irving the contract he was seeking, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Nets were the overwhelming championship favorites entering last season. Then Irving was unavailable for the majority of the year after refusing to take the Covid vaccine, James Harden demanded a trade and was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers, Joe Harris suffered a season-ending injury, and the Nets — with Durant and Irving on the floor — were swept in the first round by the Boston Celtics.
Brooklyn owes basically all of its future draft picks to the Houston Rockets because of the original Harden trade, so don’t expect the Nets to seeking a full rebuild in this deal.
We are keeping track of every Durant trade rumor in this post until he’s finally dealt. You can bet on his next destination at DraftKings Sportsbook in AZ, CO, IL, LA, NH, ON, OR, WV & WY.
Kevin Durant trade rumors, Day 2 updates
Here’s the latest on Durant’s on-going trade request.
Kevin Durant trade: Nets asking for young star and 3 first round picks
Windhorst says Nets are telling teams they are looking for a young star player and 3 first-round picks in a deal for Durant
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) July 1, 2022
The Nets will not accommodate Kyrie Irving’s wishes in trade
From Windhorst (via RealGM):
“Also, the Nets have no interest in accommodating Kyrie Irving. They have no interest in doing it. If it comes up maybe a three-team trade or a four-team trade to get the Nets satisfied with what they want. To get them maybe a start. To take draft picks from Phoenix and reroute them somewhere else… Kyrie might get thrown into that four-team trade just as salary ballast. He’s going to be used a tool to help the Nets. He is not going to be used for a player to trade for value. Very unlikely you’re going to get anything of value. Maybe a draft pick or two. And he’s not going to be used to accommodate.
“He’s going to have to sit and wait for the Durant situation to play out whether it takes three days or three weeks. And that’s just the reality of it. But in the end of it, when all that smoke clears, it is true he could be a Laker. That’s definitely still on the table.”
Kevin Durant trade timeline: “It could happen in the next few days. I could take two weeks.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said a Durant trade is not imminent. He also said Nets owner Joe Tsai wants a team that chases 40 wins
“The billionaire owner Joe Tsai would rather have a team that plays hard that he’s proud to own that wins 40 games and fights for the play-in than have a team that has way more talent that he’s not proud to be a part of,” according to Windhorst. Watch the full video here
-Plays his stars 40 minutes pg a month before the playoffs.
-Hire an incompetent GM.
-Your star player says “let me die out there”.
-Raise tickets price.And you have the nerves to think like that??? Just sell the team @joetsai1999
pic.twitter.com/y0uyTBJ5rG— Safya. (@SafyaKhadija) July 1, 2022
Durant listed the Suns and Heat as preferred destinations, per Woj
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
Kevin Durant requested a trade from Nets because Kyrie Irving wasn’t given long-term contract from Brooklyn
Woj: “[Kevin Durant] wanted to get Kyrie Irving a long-term deal in Brooklyn. That didn’t happen.”
He says that after Kyrie Irving couldn’t find a S+T, communication stopped.
Plus, the Nets have been preparing for this for weeks and have already had conversations about this.
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) June 30, 2022
The Nets will trade Kyrie Irving in addition to Kevin Durant, per Woj
Woj: “I think it’s likely that not only Kevin Durant — but also Kyrie Irving — has played his last game with Brooklyn.”
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) June 30, 2022
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving could be traded to the same team, but it’s unlikely, per Woj
According to Woj, There will be teams that will look at trading for BOTH Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together but the market on Kyrie is ‘a fraction’ of what’s available for KD…
“Everyone on their roster is gonna be available. They have to look at every scenario right now” pic.twitter.com/yBzHlgYi2N
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) June 30, 2022
The Lakers are the only realistic destination for both Durant and Irving
Windhorst says he has heard that the Lakers are the only possible destination for both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to end up. Added it isn’t likely but that’s what he has heard. https://t.co/cJmY73Guj6
— Jas Kang (@jaskang21) June 30, 2022
Kyrie Irving is telling people he’s going to the Lakers
“More than half the league has called about Durant,” per Woj
Woj says that “more than half the league has called Brooklyn about acquiring Kevin Durant”.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 30, 2022
The Nets are interested in Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, but can’t legally trade for either because of Ben Simmons
Nets reportedly have interest in both Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo, but neither can legally be rostered next to Ben Simmons due to the CBA.
I get that Brooklyn would then move Simmons, but that’s yet another player (Kyrie) whose trade value is way lower than his talent.
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) June 30, 2022
For those wondering: you can’t two players on your roster on rookie-max extensions that you’ve traded for. That’s the contract that Simmons is on, as are Adebayo and Booker.
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) June 30, 2022
The Mavericks are expected to pursue Kyrie Irving after losing Jalen Brunson, per report
Per source, the Dallas #Mavericks are expected to heavily pursue a trade for #Nets star Kyrie Irving. Assuming they lose Jalen Brunson, that pursuit will be very aggressive.
— Evan Massey (@massey_evan) June 30, 2022
The Suns are focused on Kevin Durant
Just told the Suns are now shifting their focus to Kevin Durant. They don’t want to gut the whole team to get him but that discussion is now the main priority.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 30, 2022
Suns trade offer for Kevin Durant starts with Deandre Ayton
Windhorst says on ESPN that the Suns will sign Devin Booker to a max extension in the next few hours. Adds that Phoenix’s best offer for Kevin Durant will start with DeAndre Ayton. Windy says the Heat remain in the mix because of their picks/current players.
— Jas Kang (@jaskang21) June 30, 2022
We’ll update this story as it develops.
