Kevin Durant is requesting a trade from the Nets.
What are the chances that Durant and the Knicks end up together?
I’d say one in a million.
For what it’s worth, almost every NBA fanbase is thinking about what Durant would look like in their favorite uniform. This is the moment right after you buy a lottery ticket when you imagine your life as a multimillionaire. It’s fun for a little while, but ultimately nothing more than a pipedream.
It’s highly, highly unlikely that Durant wants to play for the Knicks. He’s made that abundantly clear over the last few years. The superstar has never missed an opportunity to take a dig at his soon-to-be former crosstown rival.
To Kevin Durant, the New York Knicks aren't "cool." #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/KiNec3bMVy
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 8, 2019
In fact, there is already growing speculation that Durant is going to push for a trade to the Heat or Suns. Whether or not those deals come to fruition remains to be seen, but it’s hard to believe Durant will have the Knicks high up on his list. Knicks fans can dream about this possibility, but that’s all it is — a daydream.
Now, Knicks fans might be reading this and thinking: “Durant doesn’t have a no-trade clause! Brooklyn can send him anywhere they want!” This is true, but there is already some reporting that would indicate the Nets are working with Durant to send him to a desired location. Of course, this doesn’t mean the Nets have to trade Durant to some place he wants.
Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks is working with Kevin Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman on finding a trade for the franchise star, Kleiman tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022
On Monday, as the league prepared for Kevin Durant to potentially request a trade during the Kyrie opt-in saga, Phoenix and Miami were often mentioned as the All-Star's perceived favorite landing spots.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 30, 2022
But even if the Nets give Durant a middle finger and send him somewhere he loathes, it probably won’t be across town. For one, the Nets don’t want to see the Knicks win a championship with Durant. That would be one of the most embarrassing turn of events the history of New York sports (which this whole saga already is).
And it’s important to remember that whatever team trades for Durant is going to be doing it for all the tea in China. It is going to take a monumental trade package to acquire Durant, who is still one of the best players on the planet. It’s going to take some combination of great players, unprotected picks, naming rights for the GM’s first-born son, and then some. The Nets are going into full-on rebuild mode, and a massive return for Durant won’t take away the sting of this collapse, but it will help with the roster reconstruction.
Again, Knicks fans might be yelling: “We have a ton of assets and players to make the deal work!”
This is true, but there will be 28 other teams checking in on what it will take to get a deal done. Don’t expect to see Kevin Durant on the Knicks anytime soon. The chances are one in a million.
