Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the league and naturally, most teams will want to retain that type of player. However, the Brooklyn Nets may not have a choice in the matter, as Kevin Durant has requested a trade this offseason, and stars generally get what they want.
The Brooklyn Nets have resisted trading Kevin Durant to another team thus far, and Brian Windhorst has previously suggested that their preferred scenario is Kevin Durant staying with the team and that they do not like any of the trade offers they have received thus far. It makes sense that they would want to wait to get a fantastic offer, rather than accepting a subpar trade package.
“The executives are going on vacation… At this point, the Nets’ preferred situation is for Kevin Durant to stay with them. There is no trade that they’ve got that they like.”
A recent report by Zach Lowe of ESPN has suggested that rival teams are hoping that governor Joe Tsai ends up forcing his front office to trade Kevin Durant, even if it is “70 cents on the dollar”. From a rival team’s perspective, this stance is understandable. No one wants to overpay to get Kevin Durant, even though he is a fantastic player.
Even if Durant reports, will he be content? Will he sulk? Will trade talk become a day-to-day distraction? The Nets may not want to live that scenario. It’s draining. The wild card has always been whether Joe Tsai, the Nets governor, would ever mandate his front office just do a deal: take 70 cents on the dollar, end the melodrama, move on. Rival suitors are hoping for that kind of intervention.
It remains to be seen if Joe Tsai will end up mandating the front office to trade Kevin Durant for any decent deal. Thus far, it is clear that Joe Tsai is comfortable letting his front office work out the situation.
Hopefully, we see Kevin Durant be able to compete for a championship next year, whether it is on the Brooklyn Nets or otherwise. There is definitely a path for the Nets to be a contender if Kevin Durant retracts his trade request, and we’ll see if he ends up doing so in the future.
