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We woke up this morning with Celtics Durant trade rumors suddenly picking up speed. Brad Stevens tried to sneak in on the rest of the NBA and make a power move to get Kevin Durant to the TD Garden, albeit to no avail, at least for the time being.
Neither of the proposed Durant trade packages has been enough to convince the Brooklyn Nets to part ways with the two-time NBA champion. And, for now, it seems like we’ll see Donovan Mitchell to the Knicks way before we hear anything plausible about KD.
Celtics Durant trade rumors
That’s why Stevens decided to take things up a notch early in the morning, offering Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a future pick in return for Durant. But not even Brown was enough for the Nets to agree and trade away their best player.
Nets send Celtics a counter-offer
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on the Celtics’ trade negotiations for Kevin Durant.
Charania wrote, “The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, sources said. The proposal was rejected, and Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added. Currently, the Celtics are less inclined to include Smart along with multiple other player or pick assets, but the franchise is mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions.”
“As of right now, the Celtics have emerged as a serious possibility as a landing spot for Durant. They have tremendous interest in bringing him in and view him as a piece that could take them over that final hurdle. Although there is work to be done, there is a deal to be had that would suffice the Nets’ overwhelming ask.”
Should the Celtics flip Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant?
Ok, so now that we know that the Celtics are a real destination for Durant, we shall discuss if they should actually make this move.
Let’s not ignore that multiple Durant trade rumors stated that teams were hesitant to trade for him because they didn’t think they could keep him happy. Also, how are they supposed to compete after parting ways with most of their core to land just one player?
Most Celtics-Durant trade rumors agree that they’d need to give up Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. All Durant trade packages must also include at least four future first-round picks if we use the Rudy Gobert trade as a baseline. That’s a massive haul for an aging player who’s struggled with injuries over the past couple of years.
Currently, the Celtics rank near the top of the NBA offseason grades by adding Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari, so parting ways with two of their three best defenders — including the reigning Defensive Player of the Year — would only set them back.
In reality, the best the Celtics could offer for Durant would be a package consisting of Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, Derrick White, and multiple picks. They can’t afford to lose both Brown and Smart, and the latter could be slightly more expendable with Brogdon’s arrival.
There’s also the chance that they could get a third team involved in the deal. But the Celtics can’t give up more players, as they’d only have Jayson Tatum, Robert Williams III, Al Horford, Danilo Gallinari (who can’t be traded yet), Matt Thomas, Sam Hauser, Mfiondu Kabengele, and Payton Pritchard left on the roster.
Chances are that the Nets won’t find any team willing to meet their asking price. Plus,it’s not like they owe KD any favors. He still has four years left in his contract, so they shouldn’t be in a hurry to part ways with him, especially with Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving also on their roster.
