Now that he has requested a trade, where will Kevin Durant end up?
Kevin Durant Has Officially Requested A Trade
Kevin Durant came to Brooklyn hoping that he, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden could win a championship together. Harden got traded this past season to Philadelphia as he was not happy in Brooklyn. After the season, it was revealed that neither Kevin Durant nor Kyrie Irving were big Brooklyn fans. While Kyrie is still in the air, Durant has just requested a trade. So, let us break down the three best and most likely, situations we could see Kevin Durant in next season.
Phoenix Suns
Durant named the Phoenix Suns as a place he wanted to go to. Back to back one seed in the west, scoring around him in Devin Booker and Chris Paul. But what makes it so likely, is the assets they have. Deandre Ayton and the Suns organization no longer want anything to do with each other. So, now you have a sign-and-trade opportunity with a perfect player. A young, solid player who the Nets would surely value, he could be seen as a part of this. Mikal Bridges could also be moved. Due to his young age and ability to guard around the court.
The Suns need to make a win-now move as well. They crumbled when they had to face Luka Doncic in the playoffs as they were just destroyed. Chris Paul is the absolute best contributor to getting his team to the playoffs but one of the worst at keeping them there. If you add the greatest scorer of all time, with a still young Devin Booker, it could cause mayhem in the western conference and possibly win Phoenix and the ring.
Portland Trailblazers
I don’t believe Portland will, but they absolutely should. I said they needed to make a drastic move to contend if you read my article on the Portland Trailblazers. They still have the pieces to make it happen, however. They have young guards Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons on their roster, both with incredibly high ceilings. It also makes sense, given that they have another aging superstar in Damian Lillard.
My one concern is that I don’t believe that the front office of the Portland Trailblazers has the guts to do this. They have historically never made the big splash; they need to this time. They have a win now team, but it isn’t good enough to win now. Trade one or both of the young guards, and contend for a chip Portland.
Dallas Mavericks
This would be one of the most fun trades possible this offseason. Luka Doncic is the next NBA superstar, and he is stranded alone. Granted, they did trade for Christian wood, then make another trade. Kevin Durant is the most gifted scorer the game of basketball has ever seen in the NBA. If you pair him up with Luka Doncic for the next three years, you are guaranteed a trip to the NBA finals. There is one problem with this however.
The Mavericks are incredibly average in terms of assets to trade. They haven’t had firsts the last few years because of the Porzingis trade, so they don’t have young superstars. There was hope they could sign and trade Jalen Brunson to the Nets, but he has signed with the New York Knicks since the writing of this article. They don’t lack any picks however outside of the one used in the Christian Wood trade. I strongly believe that is all they need to make a run at Kevin Durant.
