It’s been a minute since we’ve heard anything about the Celtics pursuit of Kevin Durant and the heated debate about whether Boston should include Jaylen Brown in a trade. Well, here’s Heavy’s Steve Bulpett (formerly of The Boston Herald) with an update:
The Nets have certainly been engaging in trade talks at least since word emerged in late June that Durant wanted to be dealt. But Brooklyn has been seeking high quality talent and multiple first round draft picks for the 12-time All-Star and former league MVP, and no one has yet offered a package approaching that haul.
There was a recent report that the Nets had weeks ago turned down an offer of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a first round pick from the Celtics, but others have disputed to Heavy that such a proposal was ever truly on the table.
The headline of Bulpett’s report is that KD is planning on meeting with Joe Tsai this week with the purpose of the face-to-face unknown. Could Durant be considering backing off his trade request that kicked off free agency a month ago or could he be meeting with the Nets owner to push him to make a deal before training camps open up in two months? But for Celtics fans — particularly those in favor of standing pat and keeping their 25-year-old All-Star and Marcus Smart and/or Derrick White depending on what reports you believe — Bulpett’s report seems to suggest that Boston is not only out of the Durant sweepstakes, but are possibly unhappy with how Brooklyn has conducted business.
After reports by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania leaked with potential trade packages that included Brown and others, Bulpett quotes one league exec saying, “that’s probably why they won’t get anything done and why they haven’t had any conversations for a while. I don’t think they are going to get anything done with Boston.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that talks between the Celtics and Nets were weeks old, causing many to speculate that the rumors were leaked only to muddy the waters, potentially raise the asking price from other teams, and poison the internal chemistry of a Celtics team that gelled after the new year, swept the Nets, and used that momentum to reach The Finals.
