The excitement around the NBA trade market with the possible movement of Kevin Durant away from the Brooklyn Nets has been feeding offseason rumors this summer. The latest development in the saga is that the Boston Celtics are trying to make a move for KD, using Jaylen Brown as the primary asset they have to unload instead of Jayson Tatum.
Brown and Tatum went to the NBA Finals together and have had multiple runs to the Conference Finals before. Breaking this duo up to add Durant is extremely risky but something that might need to be done by the Celtics to go all-in in pursuing a title.
Former NBA Champion with the Celtics, Brian Scalabrine, has doubts over the trade because of Durant’s age compared to Brown. Scal is unsure of when KD will start declining as a player and was worried that the decline may happen within a year or 2.
Trading Kevin Durant for Jaylen Brown?
There's only one concern @Scalabrine has. pic.twitter.com/cLbSlMvCJH
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 26, 2022
“My only concern with Kevin Durant is I have no idea how long 7-foot, long, lanky, super highly-skilled is gonna last. I have no reference point. The Lakers traded for Anthony Davis and won a bubble championship, but there’s no guarantee that he will go back to being in his prime. Everybody ages differently. Look At Steph Curry. I thought 3 years ago that their championship window is over, look at what they did last year. LeBron could absorb all that impact, look at how big he is. His body can do that. I don’t know how Kevin Durant ages. If he ages gracefully, the Celtics should do that trade. But if he falls off a cliff somewhere down the road, it’ll be tough because you’re giving up a young, hungry, hardworking, first-in-the-gym kinda guy for someone like KD, I don’t know how much longer he has left.”
The ages of the players is a very fair point to bring up, but Durant has had some of his best seasons in the NBA after an Achilles injury, so he is still looking good against the sands of time.
Durant’s varied offensive arsenal is bound to age well in the league, even though his frame is a little unconventional. Boston won’t worry about the long-term if they’re acquiring KD, so if they can help him win in the next couple of seasons, the trade will have been worth it.
