The Nets submit a transfer request for Kevin Durant
The Nets submit a transfer request for Kevin Durant. For his subsequent title, Kevin Durant might look elsewhere. Durant has asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, according to a person with intimate knowledge of the circumstance. As a result of this action, teams will probably be eager to make offers for the All-Star player.
According to the source who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither the player nor Brooklyn made any public statements, the Nets have been negotiating with Durant to locate a trade partner, and he has several teams on his preference list.
Durant’s request for a trade was initially reported by ESPN, who also identified Phoenix and Miami as two of his top picks. Just hours before the start of the NBA’s summer free-agent session, the bombshell was dropped. In addition, the news came exactly three years to the day after Durant posted on social media that he was moving to Brooklyn, which occurred on June 30, 2019.
In addition to being a 12-time All-Star, Durant has won two NBA championships, three Olympic gold medals, four scoring titles, and four scoring titles with Golden State, his last team before joining Brooklyn. He has four years and roughly $200 million left on his contract, so getting him may require a large haul of players, draft picks, or even both.
Durant has participated in 14 seasons of play, excluding the one in which he missed due to an Achilles tear. Only LeBron James, with a lifetime average of 27.3 points per game, had a higher scoring average than him throughout that time.
And even at his advanced age—Durant will be 34 on Sept. 29, just as training camps get underway this fall—he is still among the finest players in the league. His 6-foot-10 frame makes his jump shot virtually impossible for any defender to stop.
Durant played for Brooklyn for three seasons, missing the first season as he recovered from an Achilles injury. After leading the United States to Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games the previous summer, he scored 29.9 points on average in 55 games the previous season.
His departure will be a devastating blow to the Nets unless he changes his mind and decides to stay. The Nets were counting on a core featuring Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving to help them challenge for the championship at this time last year.