Kevin Durant rumors: KD open to surprise trade destination

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is on the open market. With several potential suitors in play, Durant is open to a surprise trade destination in the Raptors.

The Nets are going to take the best trade package for Kevin Durant. It sounds simple, but despite what some players around the league might say and/or think, the organization still holds the cards in this scenario.

Durant is hamstrung by a few key facts: He has several years still left on his contract, and he doesn’t have a no-trade clause. The NTC means he cannot forfeit any deal, though he can do his best to make it an uncomfortable fit, which could sway teams away.

While he did miss some games due to injury, KD averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists last year. Brooklyn can demand whatever assets they want. No destination is out of play, as long as Durant is willing to play there.

Kevin Durant rumors: Raptors in play

Toronto evidently qualifies, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet:

“There is also a sense—though it’s reading tea leaves at this stage, as teams can’t communicate directly with Durant, who remains under contract with the Nets—that the two-time champion and 11-time all-NBA force of nature is at least open to the possibility of playing in Toronto.”

The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are preferred destinations for Durant. But beyond that, he’s open to pretty much any team that gives him a good chance at a title in the back end of his prime.

Adrian Wojnarowski agreed with Grange’s assessment, as well:

“I think a team that’s lurking and is going to lurk in this is Toronto. They have all the kinds of pieces that you would want and their picks to do a deal for Kevin Durant and they have an organization, a leader in Masai Ujiri who, certainly you saw the chance he took on Kawhi Leonard with one year left on his deal. How far are the Raptors willing to go in an offer to Brooklyn?”

The Raps were a playoff team last year without Durant. Add him to the equation, and the possibilities are endless.