Skip to main content

ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski is as (if not more) plugged-in than any other NBA media member. While most league observers are talking about the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, and Chicago Bulls as potential Kevin Durant trade destinations for the Brooklyn Nets star, Woj reports that a sleeper team is “lurking” in the process: The Toronto Raptors.

Several of the top Kevin Durant trade destinations don’t make sense for all involved 

Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets vs. the Toronto Raptors in 2021. A Kevin Durant trade to the Raptors could make sense for all involved, per Woj.
Kevin Durant | Sarah Stier/Getty Images

When Kevin Durant handed in his trade request to the Brooklyn Nets, the two destinations at the top of his list reportedly were the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns.  

A Kevin Durant trade to either of these teams presents issues, though, for Brooklyn getting the best deal possible. With Phoenix, getting additional players in a Deandre Ayton sign-and-trade would be complicated. With Miami, Brooklyn couldn’t take back Bam Adebayo with Ben Simmons on the roster because of the types of rookie extensions they both have.

This all means that Durant probably won’t get a move to either of his top preferred spots.

The Memphis Grizzlies could have offered an excellent package. However, with news of Jaren Jackson Jr. going out for four to six months with foot surgery, that deal is now less appealing. The New York Knicks could also put together an interesting mix of prospects and picks, but chances are slim to none that Brooklyn would trade KD within its own city limits.

With Phoenix, Miami, Memphis, and New York likely out, who steps up and becomes the Kevin Durant trade destination that works for both the player and both teams?

Woj might have the answer.

Are the Toronto Raptors the team that can put together the best deal for a Kevin Durant trade?

The latest Woj Bomb from ESPN’s Ardian Wojnarowski suggests that the Toronto Raptors may be the sleeper team that could come in and get a Kevin Durant trade deal done.

On ESPN’s NBA Today, Woj laid out the case that the Canadian NBA franchise could be the team to watch in the KD sweepstakes:

I think a team that’s lurking — and is gonna lurk in this — is Toronto. They have all the kinds of pieces that you would want and their picks to do a deal for Kevin Durant, and they have an organization leader in Masai Ujiri who, certainly, you saw the chance he took on Kawhi Leonard with one year left in his deal. How far are the Raptors willing to go in an offer to Brooklyn? Would they offer Scottie Barnes? … I think you keep watching Toronto to see how involved they might get for Kevin Durant.

Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski on a Kevin Durant trade to the Troronto Raptors

Woj also mentions the Raptors have Pascal Siakam and “other contracts that might match up” to facilitate a KD deal. It’s a fascinating idea, and, as Woj said, Ujiri has made a bold move like this before, which resulted in the franchise’s first NBA title in 2019.

So, what would a Kevin Durant trade to the Raptors look like?

What could a Raptors/Nets trade look like? 

After looking at the picks, players, and prospects haul that the Utah Jazz got for Rudy Gobert, you have to think that a Kevin Durant trade package will be astronomical.

The best the Brooklyn Nets could do for KD to Toronto would likely be Pascal Siakam and 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, plus a young prospect or two like Precious Achiuwa, Malachi Flynn, or 2022 second-round pick Christian Koloko and picks.

Masai Ujiri and the Raptors would likely want to hold on to either Barnes or Siakam to pair with Durant, though.

If Siakam’s $35.4 million salary is out of the deal, the Raptors would likely have to include Gary Trent Jr. ($17.5M) and OG Anunoby ($17.3M) to make the salaries match. The Nets could also take Saikam/Anunoby/plus-plus. But if Brooklyn wanted more players, it would have to include more salaries from its side in the trade.

The different options that Toronto has for a Kevin Durant trade are fascinating and likely makes the Raptors the lurker that Woj says they are. It’s definitely a team that NBA fans should keep an eye on as the KD saga plays out for the next few weeks.

All contract figures courtesy of Spotrac

Related

ESPN Insider Brian Windhorst Bizarrely Hints at NBA Conspiracy Theory That Could Affect Kevin Durant Trade: ‘What’s Going on In Utah?’

Best in NBA
Staff Writer, Producer - NFL

Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.