The Kevin Durant trade saga is stretching on by the day as the market finally looks to be accepting the fact that Durant won’t be moved anytime soon considering Brooklyn has no intention of selling cheap on him. Three teams are staying heavily involved in trade talks for KD.
The teams still dealing in the Durant sweepstakes are the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, and the Toronto Raptors.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the most aggressive pursuit of Durant is coming from the Heat, who need to find a third team to accept Bam Adebayo, as Brooklyn can’t have both Adebayo and Ben Simmons due to contract rules. In addition, the Suns are also looking at a third team to get a deal done, and the Raptors are refusing to include Scottie Barnes in a trade.
Notable Kevin Durant update from @wojespn:
– Heat are "most determined" to land Kevin Durant
– Heat, Suns will "need some help" from other teams to help facilitate Durant deal
– No progress with Raptors for Durant because Scottie Barnes is a "non-starter" in trade negotiations pic.twitter.com/OJ8LlDRNYx
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 12, 2022
“The Miami Heat have been one of the most determined teams trying to acquire Kevin Durant. They’ve talked to Brooklyn in Las Vegas. For Miami and Brooklyn to do a deal, they’ll need a third team possibly a fourth team. There’s no one-on-one deal they can do because Bam Adebayo and Ben Simmons can’t be on the roster together.”
“Brooklyn’s asking price is steep. They keep talking to a number of teams in Vegas and are no closer to a deal for Kevin Durant. Teams like Miami and Phoenix need help because they don’t have a 1-on-1 pathway.”
“The Toronto Raptors, Scottie Barnes continues to be a non-starter in any Kevin Durant discussion. There’s certainly been no progress there for Toronto.”
Phoenix could be out of the race if Deandre Ayton is to walk as a free agent and the Suns lose him as a possible asset they could sign and trade for KD. The Heat don’t have as many assets but can offer the best returning players in a young star in Tyler Herro and a DPOY contender in Bam Adebayo.
The Raptors have the best picks to offer and could easily make the trade if they give up Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, but they are intelligently keeping hold of him. Unless Brooklyn budges off their price, it seems these teams have already figured what’s the best they can do for KD.
