Let’s make the final call on Kevin Durant with Warriors Trade

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Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets talks with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

At the start of the NBA’s free agency phase on June 30, All-Star striker Kevin Durant requested an exchange from the Brooklyn Nets after just three seasons. Durant, one of the NBA’s most talented players, makes every team laugh at the prospect of adding him to their roster in hopes of taking home a title. But the Nets general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai played hard with their star commercial. They made it clear that landing Durant in a potential trade would come with a hefty price tag.

Ironically, Durant’s former team, the Golden State Warriors, might offer the best deal for him. Young players in high form, such as Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins, could help the Warriors create a big opportunity for Durant. But even if the Warriors have their pieces at stake, ESPN’s Zach Lowe says the Nets don’t appreciate any of the young Golden State stars.

“[The Warriors] are actually set up to… they have more flexibility. Commercially wise, not financially. Financially, they are breaking down barriers, but have wiser trading flexibility than most teams. That is where you will negotiate. You’ll end up holding a Kuminga or a Moody,” Lowe told ESPN’s Kendra Andrews on the July 22 episode of “The Lowe Post.”

“The problem is Wiggins and Simmons. You encounter the designated rookie failure. The information I have is that the Nets aren’t quite as tall as Wiggins or Poole as a kind of central player. Then you meet other people who are relatively unproven in the NBA. So I don’t know if there’s ever really a deal out there that the Nets will do. Obviously, you have to explore it if you are Warriors.”

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Warriors GM wants to give the team a chance to win the defending title

The Warriors are just over a month away from winning their fourth title since 2015. As the defending NBA champions, they don’t need Durant. Also, having so many promising young players could make them good candidates even after the eras of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are over. Warriors general manager Bob Myers wants to allow the current team to defend their title.

“I like our team and its location. I wanted to give the boys a chance to do it again,” Myers told NBA.com’s Mark Medina.

“It was a good group. We are so lucky. It will be fun to watch. We actually went hunting last year. Now I guess we’re back to being the hunted, which I didn’t think we would. We shall see. I think we can handle it.”

Durant’s trade request from the Nets has received heavy criticism after failing to make it past the second round for the past two seasons. But the star striker has an unlikely teammate in former teammate Draymond Green, who believes the criticism he’s received for wanting to leave Brooklyn is unfounded.

Draymond Green comes to Durant’s Defense

“If Kevin Durant says, I really don’t want to be here anymore, I want to go somewhere else, why does that matter? Why does that make you weak? Why does that make him – does it mean he’s running away from something? I don’t understand that,” Green said on his self-titled podcast.

“It was the next step in his career. Again, I always go back to the saying if someone leaves Google for Apple after three or four years, and then they leave Apple after two years to go to Tesla, No one can say that person is gone.”

Commercial negotiations for Durant have reached an impasse, and the opening of NBA training camp is closer than it appears. It will be interesting to see what lineup Durant will have on opening night.

CONTINUE READING: Nets urged to come to terms with Ben Simmons’ Grim future