Brooklyn Nets’ owner, Joe Tsai, has no willingness to lower the trade price for Kevin Durant, while three teams remain strong candidates to land him.
On Monday, Tsai met with superstar forward Kevin Durant, who gave the Nets’ owner a wild ultimatum. Durant told Tsai he should either trade him or fire head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks.
“Tsai and the Nets have made clear privately that they will take every last asset from a team that trades for Durant, sources said,” Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Sources: Kevin Durant informed Joe Tsai that he does not have faith in the Nets‘ direction. The meeting was described as transparent and professional, with a clear message: Keep me — or the GM and coach. https://t.co/W1voNf9MDC https://t.co/0lbBay2OxF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2022
At the moment, the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat remain strong candidates to land the two-time NBA champion. However, the extremely high trade demands of Brooklyn have made things extremely difficult for interested teams.
“The Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat remain the most significant candidates to acquire Durant, sources said, with Boston’s package centering around All-Star forward Jaylen Brown seen as a viable deal,” Charania added.
It is unlikely for Nets’ owner to keep Durant in the team and part ways with Steve Nash and Sean Marks, therefore we should expect interested teams to re-engage in talks with Brooklyn.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP still has four years and $194.2M left on his current contract.