Kevin Durant Rumors: Teams Eyeing Nets Star's Status After Kyrie Irving Trade Request

Nets star Kyrie Irving reportedly requested a trade from the franchise Friday, but he's not the only Brooklyn player teams are keeping an eye on leading up to the Feb. 9 deadline.

Teams are interested in Durant's status with the Nets following Irving's trade request, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Durant's status with the Nets was also in question during the offseason when he requested a trade from the franchise before later rescinding it after Irving opted in to the final year of his contract.

The four-time scoring champion addressed his trade request in September, telling reporters Brooklyn was a "great option" and that he didn't want his request to be a distraction once the regular season began.

Durant added, per Chris Milholen of Nets Daily:

"I felt like we had a good team. I felt like this is a place that I said I wanted to be and we're starting to set something up in the future to be a solid team. To be honest, I thought [Nets] was still a great option, too. I didn't want [trade request] to get in the way of the games being played.

"I still love my teammates. I love playing at the Barclays. So I felt like regardless it's gonna be an easy decision to come back and play because I love to hoop. This has been a good environment for me the last two years, even though I had some doubts but overall, looking at it, I still like to come in here and get work in."

This season, the Nets have gone 31-20 and are sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference. However, after Brooklyn was embarrassed 139-96 by the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, it became more clear that the team is far from competing with the East's best, which also includes the Milwaukee Bucks.

If the Nets trade Irving, the franchise will likely be even further from contending, which won't be an ideal situation for Durant.

The two-time NBA champion has been sidelined with a knee injury since Jan. 12, but when he's healthy, he's one of the best players in the league. Through 39 games, he's averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor and 37.6 percent from deep.

The 34-year-old is under contract through 2026 after signing a four-year, $198 million extension with the Nets in August 2021. If he is eventually dealt, he's going to cost a significant amount because of the tenure on his deal.