"I'm not giving up the heart and soul of my team" - Jay Williams shuns the inclusion of Marcus Smart in a potential Kevin Durant trade
Since reports of the Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics trade talks broke, much has surfaced about how Brooklyn is moving forward on Kevin Durant's prospects.
For one, they are clearly looking at anything and everything. Trading Kevin Durant with the team that trounced him in the first-round of the playoffs would have been a reach until yesterday, but understandably Brooklyn will look at any and all offers.
The talks are not new, as reported by B/R's Jake Fischer and ESPN's Brian Windhorst, and were up in the air as early as the first week of July. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and The Atheltic's Shams Charania broke the news Sunday.
However, The Athletic's Jared Weiss has also reported that the Nets are looking to avoid a no-show conundrum when training camp starts and are driving the market.
Charania noted in his article that Boston had put up Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and draft picks as the initial offer, while Brooklyn demanded Marcus Smart as well.
Jay Williams, on ESPN's "Keyshawn, JWill & Max," spoke on whether he would trade Smart alongside Brown for Durant:
"Nope! Not doing it. Don't want to do it. I'm not giving up Jaylen Brown. I'm not giving up Marcus Smart. I'm not giving up the heart and soul of my team."
Williams further went on to answer whether he would make the trade without Smart:
"If I didn't have to give up Marcus Smart and it was Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and draft picks, (I would) probably (do it), because I'm potentially going to lose Jaylen Brown anyways."
Brown's current contract, his rookie-extension, has made it such that the Celtics have their hands tied on how much money they can offer in an extension.
Market for Kevin Durant slow, but progressing
The Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and now, Boston Celtics are the top contenders in the Durant sweepstakes. Each team has a package the Nets are willing to take, and they are not willing to give up.
The Nets and Celtics entered trade discussions for Kevin Durant, per @ShamsCharania
Boston reportedly offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick for Durant, but the Nets also wanted Marcus Smart, more draft picks and potentially one more rotation player https://t.co/qTvOQezcx3
The Heat will likely not move Bam Adebayo for Durant, nor will the Raptors touch Scottie Barnes. The Suns cannot trade Deandre Ayton anymore, so are already short on what they can offer. The Celtics have deemed Tatum untouchable and only put up Brown as the anchor of that trade package.
If the Nets want a drama-free training camp, trading Durant will likely come down to accepting a package from one of these teams.