NEWSLETTER
When news broke that Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, we knew it would take an arm and a leg to get the deal done. But it sounds like Brooklyn is asking for every last limb. A few digits, too.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill, the organization asked Minnesota for a bonkers trade package that included both Karl-Anthony Towns and 2020 No. 1-overall pick Anthony Edwards.
Here’s what he said on the latest episode of Posted Up with Chris Haynes:
I’ve heard varying degrees of what Brooklyn wants. Some executives have thrown out some crazies. They said Brooklyn is asking for too much. They want an All-Star player, a starter, plus draft picks.
I heard from – and I don’t know if this is out there, but I’m not trying to break any news per se – I heard that Brooklyn came to Minnesota and said ‘we want Karl-Anthony Towns, we want the Ant Man, and we want four draft picks.”
On one hand, I totally understand the Nets setting the asking price for a top-20 player of all-time this high. On the other hand, EXCUSE ME!?
Having Karl-Anthony Towns – a 3x All-Star and 2x All-NBA Third Team Member – as the headliner of a trade makes plenty of sense. But asking for Edwards on top of that – who showed last season that he could be on the brink of his own superstar status – and four first-rounders is jaw-droppingly audacious (and, to be clear, this all clearly happened before the Gobert trade, when the T-Wolves had picks).
In no world could I see the Timberwolve sacrificing that much star-level youth for a few years of an aging Durant. Again, I get that the price needs to be historically high, but any team that lands Durant will also want to start an immediate Finals push. Giving up Towns, Edwards, and a bunch of draft capital could completely sink the small-market franchise’s ability to build a contender.
Indeed, this is why I think the whole Durant saga could play out for weeks on end. While there is undoubtedly a ton of interest in adding his elite skills, only a few teams could do so in a way that doesn’t simultaneously damage their chances at immediate contention. And those teams who could accomplish that (i.e. Phoenix/Golden State) may also not have the kind of high-end assets the Nets want back.
The more I think about this Durant situation, the more complicated it becomes. But, if I know one thing for sure, it’s that the Chicago Bulls are likely comfortably out of the running. I just can’t see a world where they have anything near what Brooklyn will be asking for.
