NBA Exec Says Bane, Bridges Trades Don't Mean Kevin Durant 'Is Worth 12 Firsts Now'

The Memphis Grizzlies' haul for Desmond Bane and what the Brooklyn Nets got last year for Mikal Bridges may not be all that instructive toward the return on a Kevin Durant trade.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps spoke to one NBA executive who said people should "throw their prior precedents and baselines out."

"Those deals don't mean Durant is worth 12 firsts now," the exec added.

There was already an example of this when the Suns acquired Durant from the Nets.

Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the Utah Jazz flipped stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell for seven collective first-round picks and multiple pick swaps. Based on that, Brooklyn should've gotten an earth-shattering combination of picks and players when it finally moved KD ahead of the 2023 deadline.

Instead, the Nets received Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap. Especially in retrospect, general manager Sean Marks did well but didn't necessarily set a new gold standard for trades in which you're surrendering a star player.

This time around with Durant, Phoenix has even less leverage than Brooklyn did. The 15-time All-Star is older, a little worse as a player, and on an expiring contract.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Sunday the Suns "know they won't be able to come anywhere close to matching (gulp) what they gave up to get Durant but appear heartened by the level of interest" in him.

Durant is clearly a better and more accomplished player than Bane. But on-court value doesn't equate to trade value in an inefficient market.

Nobody should be surprised if Phoenix gets less for Durant than Memphis did for a player who has yet to receive a single All-Star nod.