Heat, Raptors, Celtics Viewed As Strong Candidates For Nets’ Kevin Durant

It appears that nothing has changed with Kevin Durant and his desire to be traded, and that the Nets will continue to seek a taker.

Whether they lower their asking price, though, remains to be seen.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Durant reiterated his trade request in a meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai. Durant gave Tsai an ultimatum — indicating he does not want to return if coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks are back, per Charania.

Prior to the meeting, Brooklyn had spoken to every team in the NBA about a Durant trade. But it appears some have a better shot at landing him than others.

Those supposed frontrunners — the Heat, Celtics and Raptors. Or as Charania wrote, each are “significant candidates.”

Interestingly, the Heat have been listed as one of Durant’s preferred destinations, along with the Suns. But it doesn’t appear as if the Suns want to get too heavily involved — not for what the Nets say they’re seeking in return.

The Celtics likely can put together the strongest package, supposedly already offering a deal that involved star forward Jaylen Brown. The Nets reportedly rebuffed that offer. But Charania wrote that Durant also has admiration for Celtics coach Ime Udoka, so perhaps the sides can still work out a deal.

As for the Raptors, as we relayed, there is every indication they will not include reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes in a Durant trade. So if the Nets want to work out a deal with Toronto, they will probably have to go another route.

As for the Heat, it’s still too soon to know what they can offer. Word is, they’re trying to accumulate more draft picks to send Brooklyn’s way.

Meanwhile, given that Durant is supposedly calling for Marks’ job, it’s hard to know if Marks will alter what he’s seeking in a deal.

Basically, the high drama continues to revolve around Durant and the Nets, and where he will end up next, he really have no idea. All it seems like — for now — is it won’t be Brooklyn.