The Nets went all in to try to trade for Raptors forward Pascal Siakam ahead of Thursday’s deadline to convince Kevin Durant to stay, per Zach Lowe of ESPN.
Siakam, however, was not available, and the Nets then turned their attention to a trade with the Suns.
Reports say that the Suns were the only team with which the Nets discussed a Durant deal. Brooklyn appeared to realize a trade with Phoenix was inevitable once they couldn’t land Siakam.
“I think they told him, ‘Hey man, in the summer, we can get some big names. There are going to be some big names who might ask out. We are going to collect stuff to give ourselves a shot at it,'” Lowe said on The Lowe Post podcast, via RealGM. “I’m not going to name who those names are, but I think that’s a conversation that was had.
“They tried to get Pascal Siakam now in the intervening 96 hours because K.D. made it known he likes Pascal Siakam. He thought he would be a good fit.”
While the Raptors were one of the most discussed teams at the trade deadline, they made just one deal — acquiring center Jakob Poeltl from the Spurs.
Meanwhile, the Nets sent Durant to the Suns for forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder and picks. Crowder since has been traded to the Bucks.
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