Where will Kevin Durant be traded? That is the biggest question yet to be answered in the NBA offseason. The 33-year-old superstar has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, listing the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns as his preferred destinations.
But while the Heat are reportedly the most determined team to land Durant, they have some significant challenges in getting a deal done as the Nets continue to have a high asking price for KD. Similarly, other top contenders in the Phoenix Suns and the Toronto Raptors face major obstacles in their chase for Durant.
So read on below as SBOTOP breaks down the latest developments surrounding the top teams in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes.
Miami Heat
As recently reported by top NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Heat are the team with the most interest in Durant at the moment. Although, Woj adds that the Heat will likely need to add a third or even a fourth team to the trade in order to meet Brooklyn’s steep asking price for Durant.
The Heat can offer reigning Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and some additional pieces, but the Nets might push for All-Star big man Bam Adebayo to be included in the deal. Although, there’s the added issue of Adebayo not being able to be on the Nets with Ben Simmons, which further complicates matters for Miami.
And now, there is a new wrinkle to the whole saga with the massive NBA 2022 news that the Jazz are open to trading All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. The Heat have long been linked with Mitchell and reportedly even made a trade offer for him, but the Jazz shot it down.
While Durant is clearly the superior player, Mitchell might be the more attainable star of the two, so if the Durant negotiations with the Nets become too complicated, the Heat may have to decide whether to pull out of the KD sweepstakes and focus on Mitchell instead.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns have gone to the Finals and had the best regular-season record in the NBA in back-to-back seasons, but Chris Paul and co. have not been able to get over the hump and win their first NBA title in franchise history.
Durant’s arrival would obviously boost the Suns’ NBA 2022 odds significantly, and on paper they seem to have the pieces to put together a compelling trade package for KD, with Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson possibly part of a deal.
But the Suns’ pursuit of Durant could be complicated by Deandre Ayton, who is a restricted free agent, possibly signing an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers.
If Ayton does sign the offer sheet and the Suns match, then he wouldn’t be eligible to be traded until December, by which time Durant could be off the market. And if the Suns decline to match, which is a significant possibility after they decided against offering Ayton a max contract, then they would lose him for nothing.
However, Phoenix and Indiana are reportedly working out a potential sign-and-trade to get some assets back in return. Pacers big man Myles Turner could be part of a trade package for Ayton, which they could then use in a Durant deal.
Having said all of that, though, the Suns are also in a similar predicament to the Heat where they likely need a third or fourth team to swing a trade for Durant, which will not be easy to do.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are no strangers to swinging a blockbuster trade for a disgruntled superstar forward. They famously got Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs in 2019 and went on to win the NBA championship with him.
So, will lightning strike twice in Toronto?
Maybe not. Woj also reported that there has been no progress in trade talks with Toronto since the Raptors are not willing to offer reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes into any potential Durant deal.
The Raptors have other interesting assets they could offer in the form of Pascal Siakam, who was voted All-NBA Third Team last season, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. But apparently, the Nets are not willing to listen to any deal that doesn’t include Barnes, which is understandable on their part. Barnes is one of the most promising young players in the league as he averaged 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds as a rookie.
While the Raptors willingly traded away franchise great DeMar DeRozan to acquire Leonard, team president Masai Ujiri may not be as quick to part with the 21-year-old Barnes, who has flashed legitimate star potential. But it will take a huge haul to get a great player like Durant, and it remains to be seen whether the Raptors are willing to pay such a heavy price.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
