NBA Trade Rumors: According to a recent report, the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are still pursuing a possible trade for Kevin Durant.
Eary Monday morning, a bombshell of a report was leaked. It said that the Boston Celtics had emerged as a major threat to land Kevin Durant via trade and that they had offered a package centered around Jaylen Brown.
Nothing remains close, but it was interesting that the Celtics have officially been thrown out there as a possible suitor.
Perhaps there’s some reasoning there, but that’s not all the report included. Additionally, it was also reported that the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors remain in pursuit of Durant.
That means, at least publically reported, there are three teams currently seeking a Durant trade – Celtics, Heat, and Raptors.
Interestingly enough, I have a sense that perhaps the Celtics were thrown in there to potentially begin a bidding war between the three teams. Or, at least from the part of the Raptors.
Neither the Heat nor Raptors have been inclined to include their best possible trade asset – Bam Adebayo and Scottie Barnes, respecively. There have been whispers that perhaps it’s a conversation the Heat would be open to having, but there has also been recent pushback on the idea of trading Bam.
On part of the Raptors, I’m not sure it really makes sense to go all-in for Durant. He’s going to be 34 and maybe has two elite years remaining? To give up on the possibility of Barnes transforming into a superstar would be extremely short-sighted. At least in my opinion.
Maybe the Nets truly want Boston’s possible godfather offer of Brown, Marcus Smart, and a flurry of future first-round picks. Maybe they do.
Although, I’m sure that this recent wave of reporting is more about trying to revive a market for Durant. It’s been relatively quiet for the past few weeks and perhaps now it will spark back up.