Will Kevin Durant follow Kyrie Irving trade request with one of his own?

Kyrie Irving wants out of town, but Kevin Durant is still under contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

We have trouble in basketball paradise again, as Kyrie Irving wants out with the Brooklyn Nets.

While Irving is playing for his boyhood team and was able to recruit Kevin Durant away from the Golden State Warriors to link up with him, nothing is shocking with Irving at this point. The Flat-Earth Truther does not believe in mandates, or being part of a winning culture, apparently. Though Durant is still in his prime and worthy of building a contender around, could he want out as well?

Let’s discuss the pros and cons of Durant requesting a trade out of town to follow Irving’s lead.

The pros and cons of Kevin Durant requesting a trade with Brooklyn Nets’ brass

There are a few reasons on either side of the equation for Durant potentially requesting a trade out. On the pro side of things, one, he is a noted wanderer. He moves to the beat of his own drum, for better or worse… Two, he likes to do what everybody likes to do. Despite being in his mid-30s, he is incredibly impressionable. Three, Irving got him here. And four, it may be time for a new start.

As far as why he should not request a trade, Durant has plenty of reasons to stay. One, the perpetual ice cream headache known as Irving wants to leave, so that is a positive. Two, Brooklyn can get plenty of assets back to build a better championship contender around him. Three, his business ventures are based in New York. And four, his contract is too big to easily make a trade.

Frankly, the last part is why he should stay. Durant is in his age-34 season out of Texas. He is under contract with the Nets through the 2025-26 NBA season. This means he will not hit free agency until right before his age-38 season. At roughly $43 million in annual salary, and it only going up, a potential trade partner with the Nets will have to give up so much capital to land him.

In short, a theoretical team he could go to would be far worse than before he arrived. Draft picks will be going Brooklyn’s way, as well as a few key pieces playing today. Initially, it may work out for Durant to be traded over to a championship contender, probably one out West. However, it may hit the fan at his new place of employment faster than it did by partnering up with Irving in Brooklyn.

He may want to be traded right now, but Durant is best served being patient and waiting this out.