The Kevin Durant saga rages on, with everyone waiting with bated breath to see where the superstar will play next season. Durant shocked the NBA world by requesting a trade last week and reports emerged that his preference was a move to the Suns or the Heat.
Another potential contender in the Durant sweepstakes started emerging a day after that news broke, as Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Raptors could be a destination to look at. The team as per reports, also believes that they have the best trade package for KD but it seems like one player won’t be a part of that package and that happens to be Scottie Barnes. On the “Callin Shots with Seth Partnow” podcast, Jake Fischer stated that he doesn’t think the team would make any trade involving Barnes because of the age factor and what he promises to be in the future.
via Callin Shots with Seth Partnow at the 42:42 mark:
“I don’t think they would trade Scottie (Barnes) for Kevin Durant with the age factor. I mean the Raptors are definitely very excited about the future of what that guy could lead them to one day.”
Barnes definitely is a very valuable piece for the Raptors and it’s not a surprise that they are unwilling to part with him. He averaged 15.3 points to go with 7.5 rebounds on nearly 50% shooting from the field in 2021-22, which earned him Rookie of the Year honors and he looks set to be one of the pillars of that franchise.
That is precisely why the Nets would want him in return in any KD trade and they are willing to wait until they get the kind of package they want for Durant. The Nets have the leverage with KD having 4 years left on his deal and they plan to use it.
