Should Nets Be Considering Kevin Durant Trade amid Latest NBA Rumors?
Quite a bit is currently up in the air for the Brooklyn Nets. They fired head coach Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn took over on an interim basis. Kyrie Irving has been suspended indefinitely. And meanwhile, the team has gotten off to a slow start on the court.
So, what does the future hold? Who will become the next head coach? When will Irving return? Can the Nets get their season back on track?
And then there's Kevin Durant, the superstar forward who requested to be traded during the offseason. Nothing ever materialized, and the 34-year-old has remained in Brooklyn, even if that wasn't what he wanted in the summer.
At some point, the Nets may break up their core, which has underperformed in recent seasons. Despite having Durant and Irving in the same lineup (which also once featured James Harden and now Ben Simmons), Brooklyn has still won only one playoff series over the past four seasons, even though it's reached the postseason every year during that stretch.
But for now, Durant may not be going anywhere, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
"The concern in Brooklyn is: How long does Kevin Durant hang in there? ... You can imagine a scenario where KD perhaps revisits his [trade] request from the summer at some point, although I don't believe that's a consideration right now for him," Wojnarowski said during a recent appearance on ESPN (h/t Talkin' NBA).
That may not mean Durant is entirely happy, though. The Nets were 2-6 before they notched back-to-back wins over the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets on Friday and Saturday. But there's still a long season to go, and Brooklyn will need to find a way to keep having success.
It could be difficult for the Nets to do that if they don't get more out of Simmons, who has still played only six games since getting traded to Brooklyn in February. And he's currently out because of a knee injury.
"Ben Simmons has been a source of frustration for Kevin Durant, for others on the Nets so far, because he has been unable to stay on the floor with a knee injury," Wojnarowski said on ESPN (h/t Talkin' NBA). "But prior to that, he has shown that he's a long way away from being back to an impactful player."
Could it be best for both Durant and the Nets to part ways? He surely wants to get back to competing for NBA titles, while Brooklyn may need to head in a different direction if it can't excel with its current roster construction.
If Durant hits the trade market, there'd be plenty of suitors. In fact, ESPN's Zach Lowe recently said on The Lowe Post podcast that "the whole league is ready now to reengage on Kevin Durant" (h/t HoopsHype).
Even if the Nets haven't performed quite as well as they had hoped so far, Durant is playing exceptionally again. He's averaging 31.5 points through 10 games, and he hadn't scored fewer than 26 this season
Because Durant remains one of the top scorers in the league, Brooklyn likely shouldn't try to trade him yet. Even if the Nets have to move forward without Irving and/or Simmons—and they may be wise to try to trade both, if possible—they could still build around Durant for the foreseeable future.
However, if things continue to trend in a negative direction for the franchise, then Brooklyn may eventually reach a point where it's best to trade Durant and enter a rebuild. That point isn't here yet, though, and the Nets should know that.
For now, Durant will continue to try to power Brooklyn to success. It may not be a permanent fit, though, and it wouldn't be surprising if he eventually suits up for another team before the end of his NBA career.
