Kevin Durant asks for trade from Brooklyn Nets: AP source

Kevin Durant could also be taking his quest for extra titles elsewhere.

Durant has requested a commerce from the Brooklyn Nets, based on an individual with direct information of the choice that undoubtedly may have groups scrambling to place collectively provides for the perennial All-Star.

The Nets have been working with Durant to discover a commerce accomplice, and he has a number of groups on his most popular listing, based on the one that spoke to The Related Press on situation of anonymity Thursday as a result of neither the participant nor Brooklyn revealed any particulars publicly.

ESPN first reported Durant’s commerce request, citing Phoenix and Miami as two of his most popular locations. The bombshell got here simply hours earlier than the NBA’s free-agent interval for this summer time was set to start.

Durant is a 12-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA champion – these rings coming with Golden State, the crew he was with earlier than becoming a member of Brooklyn. He has 4 years and practically $200 million remaining on his contract, which implies that it might take a haul of gamers, draft picks or probably each for a crew to accumulate him.

Durant has performed 14 seasons, not together with one yr when he sat out whereas recovering from a torn Achilles. He has averaged 27.2 factors in his profession – over that span, solely LeBron James, at 27.3 factors per sport, has averaged extra.

And even at his age – Durant will flip 34 on Sept. 29, across the time coaching camps open this fall – he’s nonetheless the most effective gamers within the sport, his 6-foot-10 body making his bounce shot nearly unstoppable by any defender.

Durant spent three seasons with Brooklyn, not taking part in within the first of these years whereas he recovered from the Achilles harm. He averaged 29.9 factors in 55 video games final season, after main the U.S. to Olympic gold on the Tokyo Video games final summer time.

Until he modifies his thoughts and stays, his departure might be an enormous blow to the Nets. At the moment final yr, the Nets have been banking on contending for a championship with a core led by Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

That plan did not come near actuality. Irving missed a lot of the yr due to his refusal to be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19; he was ineligible to play in dwelling video games for almost all of the season. Harden wound up getting traded to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, who did not play in any respect final season. Durant led Brooklyn into the playoffs, the place it was swept within the first spherical by eventual Japanese Convention champion Boston.

And the offseason hasn’t precisely been calm for the Nets, both. Irving’s future was a serious query mark till he determined to train his $37 million choice earlier this week to stay with Brooklyn this coming season.

Now, Durant needs out, and the Nets will both have to vary his thoughts or go forward with strikes that may overhaul their crew.