Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant has reportedly requested a trade out of Brooklyn. Here are five teams that could be good landing spots.

Generations of fans are starving for a winner and, if he won in D.C., Durant would arguably be immortalized to a greater degree here than he would anywhere else. If he took the Wizards even to the conference finals, it would be the best season for the franchise since the 1970s. Well, LeBron James was in a somewhat similar boat for joining the Heat. But then he went home and ended the title drought in Cleveland. Few athletes have the opportunity to do the exact same thing, but Durant happens to be one of them. Simons alone wouldn't get a deal done, but the Nets might not be able to do much better than that if a young potential star is what they seek as part of the return. Not only are the Heat a team that Durant evidently would like to play for, and not only do they have the lifestyle of South Beach to sell him on, they also both badly need a lead scorer and have some fairly enticing pieces to offer. As long as they keep Devin Booker and Chris Paul, Durant would show up and immediately raise the ceiling for the Suns, who already had the best record in the West this past season.

The 12-time all-star is eyeing a move to the Phoenix Suns or Miami Heat, among other possible destinations.

Irving’s lack of availability for much of last season due to his refusal to take the vaccine influenced Brooklyn’s thinking. Being a free agent, it’s one of the most important times in your career. Durant carried the Nets through a turbulent campaign, averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, earning all-star and all-NBA second team honors. Earlier this week, Irving picked up his $36.5 million player option with the Nets for the 2022-23 season after the franchise opted against extending him a long-term max contract. That can’t be swayed by anybody else.” Durant’s co-stars, James Harden and Irving, weren’t re-signed to long-term deals last summer, and Harden forced his way to the Philadelphia 76ers at the trade deadline.

Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, according to a person with direct knowledge of the seismic decision.

Durant spent three seasons with Brooklyn, not playing in the first of those years while he recovered from the achilles injury. Harden wound up getting traded to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, who didn’t play at all last season. Durant has played 14 seasons, not including one year when he sat out while recovering from a torn achilles.

Durant and his agent are in discussions with GM Sean Marks to find a move away from Brooklyn; Kyrie Irving could also now leave the Nets despite opting into ...

A three-level scorer and top-calibre defender, Durant is one of the most valuable trade assets to ever hit the market. When he signed that extension the Nets still had the biggest 'Big Three' in the NBA with Durant, Irving and James Harden. Durant and Irving are very close and came to the Nets together in July 2019. After their playoff exit, the Nets acknowledged that all their distractions off the court kept them from becoming a great team on it. Irving had until Wednesday to inform the Nets of his opt-in decision. Now, Brooklyn faces another headache by trying to offload Irving as well, with the point guard also presumably wanting now to leave.

Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, but who has the roster flexibility and assets to make a deal?

Everything about the Nets has been totally unpredictable, so it wouldn't be surprising at all if Durant changed his mind and returned to Brooklyn. Durant's friendship with Irving is said to be strong. Toronto is an intriguing potential destination, as the Raptors could put together an attractive trade package that would allow them to retain most of their top players. However, Oklahoma City would undoubtedly be one of the most awkward spots for Durant. But that core is a top contender in the East. Should they trade Durant, the Nets could get back a significant return that includes multiple first-round draft picks, young up-and-coming players or some combination of both. ESPN and The Athletic first reported the news of Durant's request.

The Brooklyn Nets' superstar stuns the NBA world with a trade request in the offseason.

Irving had until Wednesday to inform the Nets of his opt-in decision. Durant and Irving are close friends who came to the Nets together in July 2019. The Associated Press reports the Nets have been working with Durant to find a trade partner, and he has multiple teams on his preferred list. The Nets returned this past season thinking title with their core of Irving, Durant and James Harden. It didn’t work out anywhere near as planned. Last season, he averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while playing in 55 games — his most since the 2018-19 season — en route to earning All-NBA Second Team honors. Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has reportedly requested a trade, per multiple reports.

Approximately three hours before free agency was set to officially begin on Thursday, Kevin Durant asked Brooklyn Nets ownership for a trade from the team.

Throw in some lifetime passes to Disney. Kevin Durant - still in his prime - is the player every team needs to try to get. (Via paolo5 IG)— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) pic.twitter.com/7FsCfk9G9h June 30, 2022 — Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22)— Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) pic.twitter.com/pUafLRGxEm June 30, 2022 This should be every team in the league right now. Durant averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists this season but played just 55 games during the regular season as he recovered from an MCL injury. Kevin Durant asked Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai to be traded from the franchise on Thursday, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, despite signing a four-year, $198 million max extension in August.

Durant doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract, so Brooklyn is able to trade him to whichever team will give them the best value. This news comes after ...

But a trade request from James Harden -- which landed the Nets Ben Simmons from the 76ers -- an MCL injury to Durant and Irving being unable to play in majority of the season due to his unvaccinated status completely shattered those aspirations. However, Irving recently opted in on his $37 million player option for next season, suggesting that both he and Durant would remain with the Nets for at least the 2022-23 season. Durant doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract, so Brooklyn is able to trade him to whichever team will give them the best value.

NBA superstar Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, according to NBA insiders Sham Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ...

Irving had looked to be heading out the door before opting into his $37 million player option, but according to Wojnarowski, Durant and Irving "want to continue to play together," but not in Brooklyn. Durant signed an extension with Brooklyn last offseason and is under contract through the 2025/26 season. According to ESPN, the 33-year-old's business manager, Rich Kleiman, told Wojnarowski that they are working with Nets general manager Sean Marks on finding a trade partner.

Where did it all go wrong in Brooklyn? Our experts look at why the superstar tandem didn't pan out and where things are headed next.

It appears LA and the Mavs are the only teams interested and at this point there’s good reason for teams to be wary of Kyrie, despite his prodigious talents. A locked-in, available Irving is still one of the best talents in the league. We keep hearing about the Lakers, in part because it would seemingly take a sizable gamble on their part to somehow become a contender anyway. The league has seen Irving wreak a lot of havoc over the last five years, from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn. It’s left an impression. A team with all sorts of length getting one of the longest, most unique talents the league has ever seen. It pushed James Harden to ask for a trade and it sabotaged what could have been a championship season in Brooklyn. But I was more prepared for the next round of Kyrie rumors than to hear Durant was requesting a trade. Kyrie wasn’t even on all of the season-ticket material, signaling that the team wasn’t sure what sort of commitment it wanted to make to him for the long haul. Or the moment Harden soured on the team because of Irving’s lack of availability. Durant will be 34 years old in September, about to enter his 16th season (or 15th, if you don't count the one he missed with a torn Achilles). The back half of his prime—let alone his career—won't last forever. Yes, we know Durant is friends with Kyrie Irving. Yes, we know Kyrie was irked over his failed extension talks with the Nets—and the Nets’ crazy insistence on him being more committed to the team. Robin Lundberg: That this is an epically embarrassing situation for the Nets. It seemed things had settled after the Kyrie opt-in so it was kind of shocking to see KD’s trade request.

Opinions are split on whether the Celtics would be wise to go all out to bring in Kevin Durant. Our John Tomase lays out why paying the ransom to the Nets ...

Durant might put you over the top in 2023, but he could just as easily show his age and you could just as easily get there without him. OK, but the Celtics spent years ignoring incessant calls to break up the Jays, and now that they're on the cusp with one of the youngest cores in the league, they're going to throw it all away in the pursuit of another white whale? Surrounding your max stars with young, cheap talent is the surest way to remain competitive for more than a year. And that's why I ultimately come down on the side of no. That's the only way to compete with a package out of Miami centered around Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro and All-Star big man Bam Adebayo. He left Golden State after butting heads with Green and failing to integrate with the homegrown core. Durant's an incredible talent and if healthy, he makes the Celtics the favorites to raise Banner 18. Robert Williams would almost certainly have to be a part of any deal. He joined the Nets amid much fanfare, won just one playoff series in three years, and now wants out. He spent two months last year on the shelf with an MCL sprain. And they're blessed with a young All-Star in Jaylen Brown to serve as the legitimate centerpiece of any deal. They're capable of winning a title, which should appeal to Durant's ring collection.

The Nets star is fed up, and two factors appear to have led to his unhappiness.

The Nets will surely get a generous haul of talent and draft picks for Durant, and perhaps something of value when they offload Irving. They could retool quickly around Ben Simmons—albeit another enigmatic talent—and conceivably be back in playoff contention next spring. The irony of it all is that as the Nets canvass the league for trade offers, they will almost certainly send Irving and Durant to different teams anyway, ending a partnership that spanned just 44 games over three seasons. Now they’re scrambling to salvage their franchise in the wake of what the fan blog NetsDaily is calling, “the single greatest failure by ownership and management in NBA history.” As one insider sympathetic to Durant noted, “Kyrie sabotaged everything,” but Durant is reacting more to the effects than the cause, and he now views the Nets as unsalvageable. On the other hand, he is said to be upset with the team’s stance toward Irving … who was the primary cause of the Nets’ disastrous season. NEW YORK – On a late December evening in 2020, when the state of the world was bleak, Kevin Durant slipped on a Nets jersey and stepped into the Brooklyn spotlight for the first time.

In an unforeseen turn of events the Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the organization, here are some possible trades.

Zion is the best you can do in a potential KD trade if you’re the Nets. He’s a franchise-changing player, and you have no chance of winning a championship without that kind of player on your roster. The problem is that route would mean that you trade Zion Williamson. The solution is that if you’re trading a generational talent like Zion you would like another in return, and KD fits that bill. KD/B.I/CJ is a title-level trio, and they would still have the flexibility to make additional win-now moves to maximize their chances of winning a title. We’ve already seen what the current iteration of the Suns’ ceiling is without KD and the West only getting better; you need KD to take the next step as a team. In return, the Nets would get a foundational piece in Scottie Barnes to potentially build around, and while the fit with him and Ben Simmons may be awkward, you can always flip Ben in the future if necessary. Out of all the teams that can put together a package for Kevin Durant that doesn’t include their best player, the Pelicans still have the best potential package. With rumors in the offseason that OG Anunoby wanted out of Toronto, you would be packaging a disgruntled OG, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes and only two unprotected first-rounders for Kevin Durant with four years left on his contract. The Clippers would form the best and most talented Wing tandem in league history while keeping a significant amount of depth around their new duo. Trading three first-rounders and getting off of two bad contracts (Lowry, Robinson) and Tyler Herro, who will likely never be as good as Paul George is right now, makes this swap worth it for Miami. The Jimmy/PG/Bam trio would take a team that was already the No. 1 seed up a tier. Scottie Barnes is one of the best young prospects in the league, and because of this, the Raptors likely wouldn’t have to part with as much draft compensation as teams with inferior prospects would have to. The franchise will likely find the best deal for them to rebuild and it’ll likely be the first of two major deals with the second shipping out Kyrie Irving. The starting point for a potential KD package is likely at least one current All-Star or blue chip prospect, two other high-level rotation players, and six or more draft picks.

There are a few players that the Nets cannot legally acquire at this moment.

There is a workaround here, but it's going to make life significantly harder for the Nets. One option would be for them to simply trade Simmons to another team. If that means finding a third team to facilitate a deal, so be it. That allowed him to make more than 25 percent of the salary cap in the first season of his deal, which he qualified for as a reigning All- NBA player at the time. In 2019, the Boston Celtics wanted to trade for Anthony Davis, but couldn't because both he and Kyrie Irving were on Designated Rookie extensions. The first is Brandon Ingram. While he did indeed sign a five-year extension with the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2020 offseason, he did so as a restricted free agent with Bird Rights. That did not invoke the Designated Rookie rule, so Ingram can be traded to the Nets. Pascal Siakam has a slightly different max contract, one governed by the Derrick Rose rule. Right now, fans of all 29 teams besides the Nets are constructing trade packages to get Durant to their cities…

Could Kevin Durant join forces with Devin Booker on the Phoenix Suns? Odds weigh in on the NBA star's next team.

It puts the Philadelphia 76ers at +800 in its odds and has the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls at +900 each. It puts the Suns at -200 to trade for the NBA star, while it has the Nets at +700 to retain him. More: Why Kevin Durant wants to be traded to the Phoenix Suns

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 ...

Windhorst says he has heard that the Lakers are the only possible destination for both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to end up. 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 That’s the contract that Simmons is on, as are Adebayo and Booker.— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) June 30, 2022 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. 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 is about to a start new four-year contract extension that will pay him $194 million over the course of the deal.