NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Brooklyn Nets received news that star Kevin Durant no longer wants to be a part of the organization. While that does close the door on their title hopes for the 2022-23 season, it puts the Nets and Durant on different paths for the future. One will succeed and it’s a very good chance that the other will fail.
Durant is in a class of stardom in the NBA where trading him nets a good return for a team but it places the player in a bad spot. The Nets trading Durant will net them players and future draft picks, but it will deplete his new team of talent and future draft picks. This is not the same sign-and-trade deal Durant did with the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
For the Nets, this is about getting the best return possible for someone with Durant’s resume. Durant supposedly provided the Nets with a list of teams he would like to be traded to and while that’s a good gesture, Sean Marks must do what’s best for the Nets.
What makes any deal hard is that the Nets and other teams understand what it takes to land and trade Durant. Analysts wanna say that we should look at what the Minnesota Timberwolves surrendered to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gobert. While Gobert is a good player, he’s not on the level of Durant. This is why trading a superstar is never easy. With Durant making it known he wants to be moved, he should be careful about what he asks for.
By providing a list of teams, what he did was put their GMs in a tight spot. There is no way the Miami Heat can keep Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo and do a suitable package for Durant. Who will the Nets receive in the end? There is no one on that roster who can match his talent. The same goes for the haul that the Nets requested from the Timberwolves. The Nets supposedly asked for Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Edwards.
If the Wolves were to entertain a trade, they would be depleted of talent as well. Durant and D’Angelo Russell are not enough to come out of the Western Conference, let alone win a championship. Durant has to know that being under contract for the next 4 years puts him in a position where he really has no say in where he goes. It’s the Nets’ job to get the best haul, not what’s best for Durant at the end of the day. It’s possible that Durant could end up with the Orlando Magic or the Detroit Pistons if either of those teams can offer the right package.
What should keepDurant up at night is the realization that he could very easily find himself in a position where he’s the only good player on a team. This is where the other GMs must also do their homework. Durant is not young like Ja Morant or Edwards. Durant has won championships and been named league MVP. He’s no longer looking to rebuild a team. He wants to win, but in order for that to happen, those winning teams must give up pieces that helped them get to the top.
If a team such as the Heat were to part ways with their role players and draft picks and start losing, there is a good chance that Durant may request another trade, then what? This is the issue GMs must face when it comes to trading away and for superstars. The Jazz can trade a player like Gobert and still place a competitive team on the floor.
Wherever Kevin Durant ends up, he’s taking a huge risk.
