Nets’ Asking Price For Kevin Durant Considered Too ‘Gigantic’ For Rival Teams

July 8, 2022

More than a week has passed since Kevin Durant requested a trade, yet he remains with the Nets. There’s a reason for that, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“We have a pretty gigantic gulf between what the Nets’ value of Kevin Durant is and what the market is willing to pay,” Windhorst said on Get Up, via Real GM. “Again, this requires some nuance and I know that this potentially will be taken out of that context.

“Kevin Durant is obviously a very valuable player. Nobody doubts that this guy is still in his prime years as an MVP level candidate, who can completely swing a team from pretender to contender with his presence.

“However, the market does not want to pay a super premium price for him because if you trade away all of these top assets on your team to get him, he becomes less valuable to you. And that gulf is why we’re in a stalemate right now and could have one for a while.”

Windhorst is not the first to suggest that a Durant deal could take a while. Per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Nets are seeking “a package in return that starts with a blue-chipper.” Stein went on to list names such as the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram and Raptors’ Scottie Barnes as potential targets.

Meanwhile, Durant’s wish list is expected to start with the Suns and Heat, and the Suns are “by far No. 1,” according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

Still, everything appears very much up in the air at the moment. For now, all we know is the Nets want as much of a haul as is possible in exchange for Durant.

“Nets general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai had agreed to work with Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman to try to trade him to one of his preferred landing spots,” wrote Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “But in the end, Durant and Irving are expected to be moved where and when it works best for Nets management.”

Along with Durant, the Nets are reportedly exploring trades centered on Kyrie Irving, with the Lakers being mentioned most. You can check out the latest on that right here.