Superstar Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant is on the move in a trade that will rattle the NBA and send oddsmakers scrambling to reset the odds.
With a 3 PM NBA trade deadline looming on Thursday, the Nets agreed to trade superstar Durant to the Phoenix Suns. Durant is currently out with a sprained MCL, but is expected to return this month.
The deal sends Durant and forward T.J. Warren to the Suns, with the Nets getting back Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap. They’ll get unprotected picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029.
The deal means Brooklyn is heading back into a long rebuild. They had hopes of playing for a title when they brought together fellow superstar guards Kyrie Irving and Durant in the summer of 2019, adding guard James Harden the following year.
But the trio played just 73 games together for various reasons. A disgruntled Harden was traded last season to Philadelphia, and the contentious Irving was shipped to the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week. That last move sealed Durant’s exit from Brooklyn, as the unhappy player saw his supporting cast gone and little to keep the team in contention in the near future.
For Phoenix, it means they’re all-in on winning a championship this season. New team owner Matt Ishbia pushed for the deal, which sets up Durant with Chris Paul, Devin Booker and center Deandre Ayton in a quest for an NBA title.
