One of the more interesting updates in recent weeks on the Kevin Durant front has been an offer from the Boston Celtics. Although it has been a while since the offer was reported, discussions about it have continued to rage on. The Celtics reportedly included Jaylen Brown, their 2nd star, in a package for Durant that was rejected by the Brooklyn Nets.
And people had differing reactions to it. While some analysts suggested that getting KD was something that had to be done, others weren’t quite sold on the idea of breaking up the Celtics’ young dynamic duo. One rival GM also went as far as suggesting that the franchise should keep Brown and the rest of their quality role players and trade Jayson Tatum for Kevin Durant straight up.
Shaquille O’Neal is the latest to add his name to the chorus, talking about what he thinks the Celtics should do on The Rich Eisen Show.
"When you put a house together, you should live in it…You, as a leader, should make it work, but you don't want to make it work, I guess…You know he's probably trying to get to a contender. It's easier that way."
Shaq on Kevin Durant's trade request 😳pic.twitter.com/xxgMLBukSg
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 2, 2022
Rich Eisen: “If you were the Celtics, would you trade for Durant? Would you cough up Jaylen Brown and others for Durant right now?”
Shaquille O’Neal: “No. Not at all. We have a young nucleus that we can build and we can trust. I’d keep ’em. And I don’t know what everybody else is watching, but Jaylen was hanging pretty tough with Durant. It looked like that to me. So, no, my answer is no. Excuse me, the answer is hell no!”
O’Neal has some experience building a franchise up. He did it alongside Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers. While Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are nowhere near Shaq and Kobe as a duo, the point remains a valid one. And while Brown was seemingly upset by the reports of the offer, he is committed to staying in Boston. It might serve the Celtics well to continue building the core they currently have that almost got the job done last season.
