The Brooklyn Nets have yet to figure out a Kevin Durant trade. Despite weeks of rumors and speculation ever since Durant requested that the team sends him elsewhere, Brooklyn has not found a team that’s been able to meet their considerable asking price for the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
Basically, while a number of teams have made offers, the door is open for someone to come in and acquire Durant while Boston, or Miami, or Phoenix, or any of the reported main suitors are left at the alter. In a new piece by Ian Begley of SNY, it was reported that there are “high-ranking members of the Sixers who’ve felt strongly about engaging with Brooklyn on a Durant trade.”
Beyond that, Begley reports that Durant “sees Philadelphia as another desired landing spot.” It’s not hard to see why Durant would be interest in going to the Sixers, as he’s praised Joel Embiid in the past, nearly got to the conference finals in 2021 with James Harden as his primary running mate in Brooklyn, and shares a close friendship with offseason acquisition P.J. Tucker. Plus the two teams have worked on a high-profile move recently, as the Sixers got Harden from the Nets at the trade deadline for a package that included Ben Simmons.
As Begley laid out, Philly could build a package around young standout guard Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. There might be an issue with draft capital that heads out — the Sixers’ 2023 first-round pick is already owned by the Nets and their 2027 pick is in Brooklyn’s hands with some protections on it, while their 2025 pick is owned by Oklahoma City — but if they can get that all sorted out, perhaps there is a way that the team can get in on the race to acquire Durant.