Brooklyn’s KD Drama Takes Another Turn
The Kevin Durant storyline in Brooklyn isn’t going away anytime soon. That is until the Brooklyn Nets find the best trade package for the two-time Finals MVP. Compounding matters is the fact that Nets also have another disgruntled star to deal with in Kyrie Irving.
KD Reiterates Trade Request
Due to injuries, Durant only played 90 regular-season games during the past three seasons for the Nets. In the playoffs, the farthest the Nets reached with Durant was the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. Unfortunately, the Nets lost Game Seven of that series.
Last season? They got swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
The drama continued during the opening of the 2022 free agency period when Irving and KD both requested to be moved.
While all we’ve heard and seen over the internet were trade possibilities and failed talks, pundits believe at least one of the two superstars will play elsewhere once the 2022-2023 season comes around.
Of the two trade requests Brooklyn has to deal with, the KD one is making more noise than Kyrie’s. In fact, Durant reiterated his desire to play elsewhere in a recent meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai.
During that meeting, Durant aired his concerns regarding Nets Head Coach Steve Nash and General Manager Sean Marks as well as the direction of the Nets franchise.
However, Tsai, in a Tweet on Monday night, reiterated his support for Nash and Marks.
“Our front office and coaching staff has my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets,” it said.
It’s now a game of “Me or them” for Durant.
Initially, the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat hit Durant’s preferred destinations. He now appears to have added the Philadelphia 76ers into the mix as well.
While seeing KD play alongside Joel Embiid looks exciting, it could be problematic for the Sixers because reuniting KD with former Brooklyn teammate James Harden would mean Philadelphia needs to give up a starter for the deal to move forward.
The Possible Scenarios
For this KD-to-Philadelpha deal to even reach the negotiation table, the Sixers need to throw everything they have left except for players named Joel Embiid and James Harden.
For starters, the Sixers would need to build a package that includes Tobias Harris, and one of (or both ) Tyrese Maxey or Matisse Thybulle plus steep draft compensations.
However, pundits remain wary of any trade involving Kevin Durant not just because he still has two years left on his current Nets contract. It’s because of his reputation of wanting to leave a team when things get difficult. Do we need to remind ourselves how rocky Durant’s relationship with Harden was during their brief tenure in Brooklyn?
Then again, this is Kevin Durant.
If he could work things out with Embiid and Harden on the court while staying healthy, this could give the Sixers their best shot at winning the NBA championship. The question then becomes whether the Philadelphia front office is willing to accept the headache that comes with the two-time NBA champion.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Tim Shelby. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.