Brooklyn Nets superstar, Kevin Durant, has requested to be traded this offseason, sending the league into a frenzy on where one of the top players in the world could end up. The Raptors have made it no secret that they would like to see Durant in raptors uniform next year and they seem very serious in doing what it takes to get him there.
The Raptors will most likely have to offer a number of their better players just to get in the conversation. The Nets know the value of a perennial All-Star like Durant and will try their best to get the absolute max for him.
One of the major bright sports of the 2021-22 season for the Raptors was Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes. You can expect Barnes to be off the table for any Durant trade, but pretty much everyone else will be fair game. Toronto will likely not want to part with the young core of the team, as while Durant is still one of the best players in the world at the moment, he is now 33 years of age and in the second half of his career.
Is Toronto a good fit for Durant?
The Raptors finished last season as the 5th seed in the East, after a reasonably successful regular season with a 48-34 record. The team couldn’t make it past the first round however, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in a six games series.
The Raptors are clearly a good team but are missing that x-factor at the end of games which would make them Championship contenders. The team isn’t that different from the 2019 NBA CHampionship winning team which was led by Kawhi Leonard. While Durant is a different beast to Leonard, he will fill many of the same roles on both sides of the floor.
What are the chances Durant will end up in Toronto?
Masaj Ujiri, the General Manager of the Toronto Raptors could be the right man to bring Durant to Toronto, as he’s shown in the past he’s an aggressive GM who goes after what he believes will bring home a championship.
On the down side, Durant has already shown interest in joining the Phoenix Suns, calling them a preferred trade destination. As far as KD’s contract status goes, he has four years and $197.5 million remaining on his current deal with the Nets. An amount Toronto does have the ability to absorb with the right trades.
Durant is a 12-time All-Star who just averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game for the Nets. There is no doubt he would add HUGE value if traded to the Raptors. It may come down to how much the team can stand to give up to get him in a Raptors jersey.
