Should the Raptors pursue Kevin Durant? Breaking down the potential Durant trade if it’s worth Toronto acquiring the former MVP

What a Kevin Durant trade could look like?

This is a trade that could benefit everyone involved. The Raptors get Durant, Anfernee Simons, and Robert Williams. The Suns get Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, the ninth pick in this year’s draft (via the Raptors), the 11^th pick in this year’s draft (via the Trail Blazers), and a 2026 first-round pick (via the Raptors).

And the Trail Blazers get RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Ja’Kobe Walter, and the 39^th pick in this year’s draft (via the Raptors). The 39th pick originally belonged to the Trail Blazers, but they traded that pick to the Sacramento Kings, and the Kings traded it to Toronto.

Toronto gets to have Durant on their team while getting Simons and Williams in the deal. The Suns have a point guard and center to help Devin Booker and the Suns be a playoff team next season. And the Trail Blazers get more depth on their team while giving more minutes to Donovan Clingan.

After coming up with a trade that benefits all sides involved, should the Raptors make this deal in real life? Before I answer that, let’s address some advantages and disadvantages of getting Durant.

What are the pros and cons of acquiring Durant?

Getting Durant will make the Raptors title contenders, especially since they’re in the East. The New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Philadelphia 76ers, if they can stay healthy, are the only teams that are probably better than Durant and the Raptors.

A reason why Toronto shouldn’t go after Durant is that the Raptors may have to make changes to the roster to satisfy him. The Brooklyn Nets had a solid team until Durant wanted James Harden on the team, so the Nets traded a good chunk of their core for Harden, and it didn’t work because Harden was traded a year later, and Durant was traded two years later.

The same thing happened in Phoenix. The Suns traded Chris Paul for Bradley Beal because Durant wanted to play alongside Beal, and they also traded DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic because Nurkic was a better fit with Durant than Ayton. But it didn’t work, and the Suns can’t trade Beal because he has a no-trade clause, so they have to trade Durant to salvage this team.

Another positive reason to make the Durant trade is that this potential move makes Scottie Barnes’ life a bit easier. Barnes isn’t the greatest shooter in the world. He’s a great playmaker, but still needs work on his shooting.

Adding Durant, who is one of the greatest shooters in the world today, alongside Brandon Ingram, who is basically a Durant clone, and Simons, gives Barnes options to pass the ball to. And he’s pressured to make big shots because he’s got guys that can make the big shots.

Another negative aspect of getting Durant is that the team that gets him will have to deal with him if he’s upset. Durant getting upset usually hurts teams. The Golden State Warriors’ dominance was put on hold when he left. Durant left the Warriors because he and Draymond Green had an argument, which alienated Durant from the team.

The Nets had to rebuild the team once Durant was traded. Durant wanted out because of how the team handled the situation with Kyrie Irving. The Raptors would have to deal with an upset Durant on their team, especially since Toronto isn’t on his preferred list.

The number one reason Durant could be a Raptor isn’t a basketball decision; it’s a business decision. Rogers Media is now the majority owner of the Raptors. They used to share ownership with Bell Media, but now Rogers Media owns the majority of this team.

Back in 2021, Rogers CEO Edward Rogers reportedly didn’t want to extend Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri because he didn’t think they needed to overpay him when they could find someone else who is cheaper, who can do the same job Ujiri does. Ujiri also has one year left on his deal. Getting Durant could make sure that Ujiri gets the contract he wants.

After listing the pros and cons of Durant to the Raptors, should Toronto make the trade?

As much as it would be cool to see Durant in Toronto, the Raptors should not make the deal. They would be giving up a lot for short-term gain, which could hurt them in the long term.

Yes, the East is wide open for any team to go to the finals next season, but there are other moves Toronto can make to improve the team in the short term without hurting the team in the long term.

Even though Toronto made a risky move by trading for Kawhi Leonard in 2018, they made that deal because the Raptors were a couple of moves away from winning the NBA Finals. This Raptors team isn’t close to a Finals run yet. So that’s why Toronto shouldn’t put all their eggs in the Durant basket when they can wait for another big star that could be available.