Celtics-Kevin Durant trade rumors could greatly benefit Knicks
It’s been nearly a month since Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, but no trade has been made. The latest news surrounding the 11-time All-Star could play out to be a good thing for the New York Knicks.
Early Monday morning, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported (subscription required) that the Boston Celtics offered the Nets a trade package centered around Jaylen Brown, but Brooklyn declined.
To state the obvious, when a player like Durant becomes available, teams have to try to make an offer at the very least. However, since it became public that Boston offered up 25-year-old Brown, that could hurt the Celtics’ chemistry if he’s still on the team in 2022-23.
And here’s proof from Brown himself, who responded to the news on Twitter.
Smh
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 25, 2022
The Celtics ruining their relationship with Jaylen Brown could help the Knicks
Boston made an incredible run to the NBA Finals this past season, but came up short against the Golden State Warriors. Behind Ime Udoka, the Celtics’ future is bright. Well, that is if the organization is able to mend fences with Brown if he isn’t included in a KD trade during the remainder of the offseason.
In 2021-22, Brown averaged 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 66 games while shooting 47.3% from the field and 35.8% from the 3-point line. He’s Boston’s second option behind Jayson Tatum, who averaged 25.6 points in the playoffs in comparison to Brown’s 23.1 points.
There was talk about splitting the Brown-Tatum duo up, but their success this past season proved that the two can coexist together. But now, it’s known that the Celtics are willing to give up Brown in order to land Durant, but the problem is that Boston isn’t willing to give up enough to get KD.
Per Shams Charania, the Celtics offered Brown, Derrick White, and a draft pick to the Nets. Rudy Gobert was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for five first-round draft picks and five players, but sure, KD’s going to go for two players and one draft pick.
No wonder Brooklyn turned it down. The Nets said that they want Brown, Marcus Smart, another rotation player, and draft picks. Will Boston be able to meet that demand? Charania wrote that the Celtics are “less inclined” to include Smart in a deal, but that “the franchise is mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions.”
If the Celtics don’t put together a suitable offer for Durant during the offseason, Boston won’t be able to simply pick back up on its success from last year, especially with Brown. That would benefit New York with the Celtics not only being in the Eastern Conference, but also in the Atlantic Division.
The Knicks’ main focus should be to continue have a solid offseason, but a little Boston drama (that could turn into a lot of drama) is always entertaining.
