If the Nets’ recent trade proposal indicates the requisite package for landing Kevin Durant, then perhaps the star forward will remain in Brooklyn after all.
Before acquiring All-NBA center Rudy Gobert in a blockbuster deal, the Timberwolves — according to Vince Goodwill on the “Posting Up” podcast — approached the Nets regarding the possibility of trading for Durant, the disgruntled 12-time All-Star. Brooklyn responded with a hefty asking price: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and four first-round picks.
Minnesota balked, unwilling to part with its duo of young stars, and talks fizzled despite the Timberwolves making several inquiries. The Nets wouldn’t budge off their asking price — which The Athletic contextualized as “established All-Stars and a mountain of picks.”
Minnesota seemed willing to part with significant assets to land a superstar; the Timberwolves ended up trading four first-round picks and five other players for Gobert. But their negotiations — or lack thereof — with the Nets over Durant provide an idea of how hard it will be for Brooklyn to find a willing partner to satisfy its sky-high demands.
Kevin Durant during the Nets playoff series against the Celtics. Getty Images
Karl-Anthony Towns (left) and Anthony Edwards were a part of trade talks. NBAE via Getty ImagesSince Durant first requested a trade last Thursday, Brooklyn has expressed the same tenor: It is content playing this out, waiting for a team to meet its asking price. So comfortable are the Nets, in fact, that they have discussed the idea of keeping Durant until training camp in the fall. The slow-paced negotiations have even spurred some to question the request’s own veracity.
Others have suggested that the market for Durant is “still taking shape.”
