Are the Boston Celtics looking to trade Jaylen Brown to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant?

There has been little to no progression to Kevin Durant’s trade request that turned the offseason on its head. There is still plenty of time for a block buster trade to go down, but at the moment it’s not seeming too likely. At the moment it seems like the defending Eastern Conference champions are the front runners to land Durant.

Where is KD going?

Hours before the free agent market opened, Kevin Durant sounded the alarm bells in Brooklyn by putting in a trade request to be shipped out of the Big Apple. Kyrie Irving had a player option at the end of the season, and for a while looked like he was the one on the way out of Brooklyn. With the trade demands of Durant, it looks like the 7 footer might be the one who has one foot out the door. Or, even worse for the Nets, both could be heading out.

Unfortunately for Kevin Durant, he is not finding many potential suitors knocking down the Nets door to bring the two time NBA champion to their city. You would think a guy who averaged 30 points a game last year and was the NBA MVP in 2014 would be a hot commodity, but at the moment he is proving to be too costly for most teams that could have an interest.

The Nets No. 7 had a short list of teams that he saw as teams he would want to be traded to, but it seems like the interest is far from mutual. While attracting the likes of a Kevin Durant would be almost irresistible, both the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns don’t look like they are too interested in giving up what the Nets are looking for in return.

Chances of Durant going to Heat or Suns fading

Both teams are coming off of years where they had serious chances to contend for the title. The Heat made it to the Eastern Conference championship, while the Suns were the best team in the regular season but lost in the Western Conference semis to the Dallas Mavericks. Now it’s another contender who has entered the Kevin Durant conversation, but how much will they have to give up?

The Boston Celtics dumped the Nets out of the playoffs with a 4-0 sweep in the first round to end Brooklyn’s season, and now it looks like they may be the one to lure Durant out of the Barclay Center. Brad Stevens and the rest of the Celtics front office has already warned that NBA First-Team selection Jayson Tatum is off limits, which leaves Jaylen Brown as the next target that the Nets can target.

While Brown is a fantastic player, and only getting better, he hasn’t quite reached the level of a Kevin Durant. Durant has been a generational talent since he came in the league in 2007. Brown average 23.6 points and 6.1 rebounds last year and became a household name in Boston’s run to the Finals.

Brown and Smart won’t cut it

So if the Celtics are going to take this trade seriously, they will have to give up much more than Jaylen Brown. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, has been mentioned as another piece of the trade that could fit into the puzzle. Derrick White, who had a sensational final stretch of the season and postseason could see himself shipped off to Brooklyn as part of the deal as well.

Those three players would be great additions to any team, especially a team that just lost Kevin Durant, but the Nets still may be inclined to ask for more. Brown is two seasons from becoming a free agent, so he could be a flight risk in the next few years. If Brooklyn do want the Celtics number two scorer and Smart and or White, it still might not be enough. They may demand future draft picks much like the ones the Celtics used to draft Brown and Tatum when they traded away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets years ago.

At the moment the Celtics are the front runners. If they can figure out a way to get Durant, and not lose too much, both teams might pull the trigger. If not the Nets might be able to hold on to both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant against all odds. Durant still has a four year contract worth $194 million.