“Giannis, LeBron, Steph, KD, the players always hold the cards” - NBA Analyst believes the Brooklyn Nets have no leverage in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes
The Brooklyn Nets are looking for potential suitors for Kevin Durant after he requested to be traded. Durant wants to leave Brooklyn after several disappointing seasons, even though he has four more years left on his contract.
The two-time NBA champion listed the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns as his preferred destinations. However, the Nets will trade him to any team that offers the best package.
Nick Wright doesn't believe that the Brooklyn Nets have leverage over Kevin Durant, even though they may believe they do.
"Folks arguing the Nets have leverage on Kevin Durant, that is in a utopian society, that is in the ideal of that these contracts go both ways. They don't. Giannis, LeBron, Steph, KD, the players always hold the cards."
Wright's comments make sense, but he may not be 100% correct. As amazing as Durant is, his situation is different since he has a long-term contract with the Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets may have zero leverage
Nick Wright spoke about the Nets' plan to keep Kevin Durant on the roster after this summer. There are reports that, if they don't get a great offer for the All-Star, they will keep him on the team.
In most situations, teams simply reject an offer because they got a better one. The Toronto Raptors offered a package that was not good enough for the Brooklyn Nets. However, they could have either accepted a trade from another team or simply let the Raptors know about the other offer they received.
This attitude makes it look like the Nets haven't received many great trades, which is a likely scenario. There have already been reports about the Nets expecting an all-out bidding war for Kevin Durant, which hasn't been the case so far.
The NBA analyst also reported that the Nets haven't been in trade discussions with the Philadelphia 76ers, even though many NBA fans believe this was the case.
All of these things point out that the Nets don't have leverage over Kevin Durant. While there are many NBA teams who could use Durant's services, they will not offer everything they have for him.
The asking price for Kevin Durant is too high
Many NBA insiders have reported that the Brooklyn Nets are asking for too much for Durant. He is a fantastic player who can make any team competitive, but he is also known for leaving his teams.
Durant first left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors in 2016. However, he wanted to build his own team, which is why join the Brooklyn Nets.
"The Nets aren't gonna move Kevin Durant until their price is met.. this process could take a while" ~@ShamsCharania
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Unfortunately, things haven't worked out in Brooklyn either, and now he wants to leave again, despite having four more years on his contract.
Earlier in the offseason, the Utah Jazz received four first-round picks for Rudy Gobert, which is why the Nets believe they can get a great trade package for Durant. However, if his market value is not as high as they think it is, it is very unlikely they will receive both great players and valuable picks.