For weeks now, the Boston Celtics have been linked as a suitor to acquire Kevin Durant, with star wing Jaylen Brown spearheading a return for the Brooklyn Nets. On Monday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania identified Boston, Toronto, and Miami as ” the most significant candidates” for Durant.
According to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, though, Brooklyn initially “tried to pry” both Brown and Jayson Tatum in a trade for Durant.
“That deal went nowhere, of course,” Himmelsbach wrote.
The Nets angling to snag both All-Star wings from Boston feels like prime posturing. There is simply no way the Celtics would ever entertain such a deal, nor could Brooklyn even expect to make headway on that proposal. It seems like a starting point for negotiations from which to work and hope to find a middle ground satisfying each party. Boston isn’t trading Tatum on his own for Durant, let alone him and his co-star, regardless of how extremely gifted Durant remains at NBA basketball 15 years into his career.
“The source confirmed recent reports that Brooklyn later shifted its focus to a potential deal centered on Brown, Marcus Smart, and a massive haul of future first-round draft picks,” Himmelsbach continued. “But the Celtics were not interested.
“As of this week, when Durant reportedly reiterated his desire to be traded during a meeting with team owner Joe Tsai, the Celtics and Nets were not close to a deal.”
There’s been considerable noise linking Brooklyn and Boston the past few weeks. All these reports feel like a form of negotiating from the two sides. It’d hardly be surprising at this point to see Durant donning Celtics green and white next season, given all the smoke surrounding a potential trade sending him to Boston. But yeah, Tatum and Brown was never going to happen.