Should Nets Help Kevin Durant Land in San Antonio in Proposed Blockbuster Deal?

Not that long ago, Kevin Durant was igniting home crowds at the Barclays Center, sporting number seven in black and white threads. He, alongside Kyrie Irving and eventually James Harden, were meant to restore basketball glory to the Brooklyn Nets. Unfortunately, it never happened.

Durant would be dealt to the Phoenix Suns in 2023, and thus began a transitional period in Brooklyn. The Nets, after adding Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in the blockbuster deal, traded the former last offseason, fully committing to overhauling their entire roster.

But two years removed from the Durant swap, Brooklyn could benefit from getting involved with the future Hall of Famer again—just in a different way. The Nets will be looking to utilize its league-leading amount of available cap space to orchestrate three-team trades, and could lean on the blueprint to help reroute Durant.

In a proposed framework by ClutchPoints' Erik Slater, Brooklyn earns the 14th overall pick in this year's draft by taking on Grayson Allen's contract—accomplishing the franchise's goal of adding a second lottery selection.

Durant heads to the San Antonio Spurs, while the Phoenix Suns get Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, pick 27 this year and a future Atlanta Hawks first-rounder.

If approached with this scenario, the Nets can't say no. While Allen would essentially be on the books for between $16.8-$19.3 million over the next three seasons, the pick attached to him makes taking on the contract worthwhile. Brooklyn has been exploring adding a second lottery pick—specifically by dangling Cam Johnson to the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors—but here it achieves the goal without parting with Johnson.

Then, the Nets have even more flexibility than they presently do, having the option to move Johnson down the line for even more assets, unless of course they decide to keep him.

The irony of Brooklyn facilitating a second Durant trade in as many years cannot be overstated, but if GM Sean Marks believes the future or current roster could benefit from such a deal, he must consider doing so.

The New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves have also been named as Durant suitors, but reports indicate San Antonio would be his top choice. Durant's business partner, Rich Kleimann, has already begun working with Phoenix on a potential trade, per Shams Charania.