The Brooklyn Nets tried to trade for Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam before the NBA trade deadline in an effort to keep superstar Kevin Durant, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. It sounds like the conversation that Lowe is talking about happened in this past summer when Durant initially asked for a trade.
There were multiple reports stating that Brooklyn were going after Siakam and forward O.G. Anunoby in their bid to make the team better around Durant and Kyrie Irving. Unfortunately for the Nets, Irving wanted out due to not getting the contract extension that he wanted and after Irving was traded, Durant asked out as well and got his wish.
There were also reports from multiple sources that the Raptors were more willing to move Anunoby than they were Siakam. In the end, the Nets weren’t able to pull off a trade for Siakam and it sounds like that contributed to Durant ultimately wanting out. Lowe explained on “The Lowe Post Show” how the Nets discussed going after another star player went:
“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.’ 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.”
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