If anyone told you yesterday that Kevin Durant is going to be the biggest name available in the 2022 offseason, you wouldn’t have believed them. That’s the reality we find ourselves in as Durant officially requested to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets after the organization failed to extend Kyrie Irving’s contract beyond this season.
Every team in the NBA will be willing to come up with a trade package to accommodate Kevin Durant. Rarely do we see a player of this caliber available on the trade market, so there are very few precedents for such trades. Most people compare it to the value Anthony Davis generated when the Lakers traded for him in 2019.
2022 NBA Draft 1st overall pick Paolo Banchero decided to recruit Durant by sharing a Photoshop of the two players together in Magic uniforms. While everyone appreciated the gumption of the man yet to play an NBA game to sell KD on playing with him, Richard Jefferson decided to give the rookie a harsh awakening to the realities in the NBA. If the Magic are trading for Durant, he as the best asset on the Magic will be the one going to Brooklyn.
https://twitter.com/TedBuddy8/status/1542617929727868928
“Hey Paolo, I hate to break it to you, but if that happens you’re going to be in Brooklyn, bro. You got the wrong jersey on. Let me just express to you how this happens. Paolo, I like you. Let me wake you up to the NBA. If Kevin Durant is in an Orlando uniform, you will be in a Brooklyn uniform.”
Banchero is yet to earn enough credit in the NBA to be the untouchable one in a trade like this. Everyone on the Magic would be available and the Nets will probably start the conversation with Banchero. The Magic’s timelines don’t align with the 34-year-old Durant, so there is no reason for them to even make a trade like this.
KD will definitely look towards being moved to a contender, with the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat the most likely teams. Banchero can stay safe in the East if KD joins the Suns, so should hope that KD doesn’t join their rivals in Miami.
