Kyrie Irving pickingup his player option for next season seemed to restore peace at theBrooklyn Nets after weeks of speculation.But only a few days later, the team found out that Kevin Durant wantsto leave anyway.
All of a sudden, KD became the biggest name on the market after submitting a trade request. However, only a handful of teams can be optimistic about it, as Durant would only leave for a contender.
That could let us imagine different landing spots, but he seems to have two teams on his wish list. Though the Suns are understood to be his favorite option, Durant would also like to play for theHeat— but his condition to do so could be an ‘obstacle.’
Rumor: Kevin Durant’s condition to join Miami could be a ‘significant obstacle’
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Durant would only be interested in Miami if they keep Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry. The problem is thatthe Nets will probably not accept an offer that doesn’t include any of them.
“As for the Miami possibility that also seems to be in play, I’m told there’s a significant obstacle on that front,” Amick wrote. “Durant, it seems, would only want to play on a Heat team that includes Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry. So even if the Heat were willing to move Butler in a deal as a way of satisfying the Nets’ (understandably pricey) request, doing so would leave Durant discontented from the start.”
NBA executive believes Heat would include Kyle Lowry in trade package for Durant
(Via Sean Deveney of Heavy.com)
“I think Lowry is the one to go if Miami moves forward on it,” one Eastern Conference executive told Heavy.com. “The Heat can’t match salary with the Nets for Durant, so they will have to send one of those three guys back. Lowry is the most expendable… You’re not going to give up Bam, and the Nets do not want Butler with his age (32) and his contract (Butler is just entering a four-year, $140 million extension with the Heat)…”
It’s completely understandable that Durant wants to be surrounded by stars in his next team, otherwise he wouldn’t be leaving the Nets. However, he doesn’t have much leverage in this situation, so he cannot expect everything to go the way he wants.