Kevin Durant's trade request has been public for more than a week, and yet the Brooklyn Nets superstar hasn't been moved.
Even though Durant is arguably the best player in the NBA, these deals aren't always easy to complete. The Nets are, understandably, asking for a massive package in any potential Durant trade. Reports suggest the Nets are seeking a young star and more than three first-round picks.
What's the latest on Durant's future in Brooklyn?
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Well, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, there's plenty of interest in Durant, but no team has stepped up with an offer to the Nets' liking yet.
"When the Nets put him on the market, I think they thought there was going to be a tremendous bidding war," Windhorst said Thursday on morning show "Get Up!". "And while there's a lot of interest, from what I can tell, that bidding war isn't really hot right now. The teams have made their offers and they don't really feel the need to increase them. Maybe we'll see a little bit of action coming out of Summer League, all of the executives are gathering in Las Vegas over the next few days and there could be a restart in action there.
Windhorst also pointed to the trade between the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves involving Rudy Gobert as something that's made a Durant deal a bit harder to pull off.
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"There's been a couple of things that have happened that have even made it more complicated that involve the Utah Jazz," Windhorst noted.
'The Jazz make this trade with Rudy Gobert last week where they get an incredible haul of draft picks in which the Nets respond by saying, 'now the price for Durant just went higher.' And the rest of the league is kind of saying 'We don't think so. We don't want to pay that price. We didn't like that trade.'"
The Nets do have time on their side. Durant's four-year, $194 million contract extension begins this upcoming season. He won't be a free agent until the summer of 2026. Even though it might be preferable for both sides if Durant is traded before the 2022-23 campaign, the Nets don't need to rush the process and accept an unfavorable deal.
Brooklyn can wait patiently for a team to get desperate and meet its demands. Durant is 34 years old, but when healthy, he's very much an elite player and someone capable of transforming just about any team into a legit title contender. The Nets cannot afford to screw up this trade -- if a trade is ultimately what happens -- or it could set their franchise back years.