The Boston Celtics tried to get ahead of everyone in the league, submitting a huge trade offer for star forward Kevin Durant but the Brooklyn Nets weren’t impressed by it.
The Kevin Durant sweepstakes are in full swing. The two-time NBA champion reportedly wants out of the Nets and many teams are looking to add him.
Any team would love to have Durant on their roster but the Nets reportedly set a historical asking price for him, as he’s under team control for the next four years.
Many teams expressed concerns about potentially meeting KD’s asking price and still not winning the NBA Championship. It seems that’s not the case with the Celtics, who submitted a massive offer to try and get Durant.
“The Boston Celtics recently offered a package around one-time All-Star Jaylen Brown for Durant and have emerged as a real threat to acquire Durant, league sources tell The Athletic,” Shams Charania, from The Athletic and Stadium reported.
“The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, sources said. The proposal was rejected, and Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added. Currently, the Celtics are less inclined to include Smart along with multiple other player or pick assets, but the franchise is mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions,” Charania added.
“As of right now, the Celtics have emerged as a serious possibility as a landing spot for Durant,” Charania noted. “They have tremendous interest in bringing him in and view him as a piece that could take them over that final hurdle. Although there is work to be done, there is a deal to be had that would suffice the Nets’ overwhelming ask”
It’s been almost 15 years since the Celtics won an NBA championship and they were pretty close to going all the way last season, reaching the NBA Finals, though they lost to the Warriors despite being the better team. Trading away most of their core, which for better or worse, got them far, is a risk but it would land possibly one of the top three players in the league.