The offseason-long saga involving Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has taken a road to the Philadelphia 76ers: Durant views the Sixers as a desired landing spot for his trade request.
The situation has gone sour in Brooklyn. Durant recently told Nets governor Joe Tsai that it’s either him or general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash. The ultimatum is clear: He badly wants out.
Per Marc Stein via his substack, Durant will do everything in his power to get out of Brooklyn with four teams in his sight:
If Durant hasn’t been traded by then, there is a growing expectation in league circles that he will continue trying to cause as much of a ruckus behind the scenes to try to prod the Nets into lowering their asking price at last to facilitate a deal. If it wasn’t apparent by now, he really wants that trade to Phoenix or Miami or maybe even Boston or Philadelphia, no matter what it does to his reputation when he hasn’t played a single game yet under the four-year, $194 million contract extension signed in August 2021.
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The only problem is the Sixers do not have the proper assets to offer the Nets for Durant. They have the talent, like Tyrese Maxey, but they do not have the draft compensation. Philadelphia cannot move a first-round pick until 2029 and that is a problem.
Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens with this situation as the summer progresses.
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