Updated Trade Packages for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, More from Latest Buzz

Andy Bailey@@AndrewDBaileyX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVJuly 25, 2022

Updated Trade Packages for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, More from Latest Buzz

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    NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Kevin Durant of Brooklyn Nets warms up before NBA playoffs between Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn of New York City, United States on April 25, 2022. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
    Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    The specter of a handful of high-profile trades will not allow this offseason to rest.

    Even with the draft done and free agency mostly in the rear view, potential moves for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell are looming.

    And in the wee hours of Monday morning, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski stirred things up with a report on another team seemingly entering the fray for KD.

    Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn

    ESPN Sources: As Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant’s trade request approaches its fourth week, the Boston Celtics have emerged among teams engaged in talks on a possible deal. Story: <a href="https://t.co/eXpn6fRoYl">https://t.co/eXpn6fRoYl</a>

    Despite a run to the Finals with 24-year-old Jayson Tatum and 25-year-old Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics may be willing to part with the latter for the 33-year-old Durant.

    "The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant," Shams Charania wrote for The Athletic. "The proposal was rejected, and Brooklyn has asked Boston—in any proposal—to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks and potentially one more rotation player."

    Is it worth scrapping the timeline for a superstar entering his mid-30s and coming off three injury-plagued seasons? For the right price, perhaps.

    A package that works for both of those teams, as well as trades for the other stars mentioned up top, are below.

Celtics Speed Things Up for Kevin Durant

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    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 25: Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics square off during the first quarter of Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on April 25, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
    Elsa/Getty Images

    The Trade: Kevin Durant for Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick swap and a 2029 first-round pick swap

    There are some glaring issues on the optics front here. Durant is eight years older than Brown. He's played in only 90 games over the last three seasons and has an Achilles rupture in his history.

    And perhaps most difficult to overcome, we're only three months removed from Durant's Nets being swept by Brown's Celtics.

    After enduring years of meme treatment for joining the 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2016, being traded to a team that just beat his team will draw ruthless mocking and criticism.

    Of course, this one is less in his hands than the free-agency decision he made six years ago. Any trade will likely have some level of approval from KD, but Boston wasn't among his earlier reported preferred destinations.

    And assuming he can stay on the floor, he and Tatum would be among the game's most dangerous offensive duos.

    The age gap between Durant and Brown is a significant concern, but the former is almost certainly the better player in the short term.

    Is that difference big enough to justify giving up on the future, though?

    Boston was already sitting in pole position (or at least close to it) in the East, just by bringing everyone back. And with Tatum and Brown as your top two, you have the potential to contend for around a decade. Swapping Brown for Durant opens the window wider, but it shortens the amount of time it'll stay that way.

    The Celtics have certainly considered all of that already, though. Pushing their chips in for KD would make the Milwaukee Bucks less of a worry. Ditto for the Philadelphia 76ers. And it'd probably eliminate the Nets from the analysis for the foreseeable future.

    Losing Smart is a big deal too, but the addition of Malcolm Brogdon for a pick and fringe rotation players softens that blow. And Boston could probably get away with adding fewer picks than most teams, since its package includes a 25-year-old All-Star.

Utah Relents on Donovan Mitchell

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    SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 28: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz smiles before Round 1 Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks on April 28, 2022 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
    Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

    The Trade: Donovan Mitchell for Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Cam Reddish, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick

    This isn't the monster return that the Utah Jazz asked for (reportedly Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, Miles McBride and a whopping six picks), but it's also pretty hard to imagine any other suitors beating it.

    According to Charania, "several other teams have expressed interest to the Jazz when it comes to Mitchell, such as Washington, Miami, Toronto, Charlotte, Sacramento and Atlanta."

    Among those, the Toronto Raptors might have the only piece that could trump a four-pick deal from New York, but Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported that the Raptors "are unwilling to part with reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes." Understandably so.

    Once Utah canvasses the league and realizes the biggest trade package of all time may not be a gimme for a player ranked in the 15 to 25 range, it should return to New York to extract as much as it can.

    And if it's something in the neighborhood of what's laid out above, that's a heck of a deal for the Jazz.

    On top of the first-round picks, Grimes has shown some potential as a positionless wing. He shot 38.1 percent from three as a rookie in 2021-22, and he followed that up with 22.6 points in this year's Las Vegas Summer League.

    Cam Reddish still has upside as a potential three-and-D wing too. Prior to his trade to the Knicks last season, he was hitting 37.9 percent of this threes.

    They're certainly not Brown and Tatum right now, but they're at least closer to that mold of positionless wings that Danny Ainge used to build the Celtics. He appears to be after something similar in Utah.

    As for Evan Fournier, he's in their for salary-matching purposes. Perhaps if he shows enough in 2022-23, the Jazz can flip him for something down the line.

    On New York's side of the deal, there's no doubt this is a steep price to pay. Some Knicks fans would likely balk at the inclusion of so much for an undersized 2 with major defensive limitations.

    But Mitchell is a star the likes of which New York hasn't had since Carmelo Anthony. His offensive ceiling is among the highest in the league, and he'd at least make the Knicks exciting, something that's been exceptionally rare over the last 20-plus years.

    None of those draft picks represents a sure thing. Mitchell is a 25-year-old multi-time All-Star who'll post an average in the mid-to-high 20s for points per game, and he gets even better in the playoffs.

Lakers Send Russell Westbrook Somewhere Other Than Brooklyn

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    PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 23: Russell Westbrook attends the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 23, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Louis Vuitton)
    Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Louis Vuitton

    The Trade: Russell Westbrook, a 2027 first-round pick and two second-round picks for Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic

    The Indiana Pacers were interested in a trade that would've sent Buddy Hield and Myles Turner to the Los Angeles Lakers for Russell Westbrook, but they understandably wanted L.A. to kick in two first-round picks to get it done, per The Athletic's Bob Kravitz.

    With those negotiations seemingly on the rocks, the Lakers should pivot to another team entering a rebuild for a similar package.

    Taking on the $47.1 million owed to Westbrook for 2022-23, only to buy him out, is no small thing. So the Jazz might insist on a second first-round pick too. But if L.A. is willing to pay that, it should just send the package to Indiana for the younger (and probably better-fitting) return.

    If L.A. is dead set on only sending out one first, and Utah feels content in basking in the massive hauls it got for Gobert and (presumably) Mitchell, this deal makes sense.

    Again, Utah would likely just buy Westbrook out and allow him to enter free agency. Its primary concern right now is asset accumulation, and Russ probably doesn't have much interest in putting up empty-calorie numbers on a tanking team.

    And if you think about paying that buyout in the context of the greater teardown, it's easier to stomach.

    For the Lakers, this trade undoubtedly makes them better.

    Mike Conley has spent the last three years getting comfortable as more of an off-ball point guard alongside Donovan Mitchell. During his time in Utah, he's hit 40.1 percent of his threes. Being that kind of catch-and-shoot threat makes him a great fit alongside LeBron James, even if his defense isn't what it was with the Memphis Grizzlies.

    Adding Bojan Bogdanovic serves a similar function. He's a career 39.2 percent three-point shooter. And though he's no lockdown defender, he has the size and willingness necessary to survive in switch-heavy schemes.

    Even if the Lakers had to include two firsts, getting two starting-quality shooters to space the floor for LeBron and Anthony Davis would probably be a win (though again, if willing to part with both picks, they should go back to Indiana).

Nets Look for a Long-Term Point Guard in D'Angelo Russell

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    MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 29: D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first quarter of the game during Game Six of the Western Conference First Round at Target Center on April 29, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Grizzlies defeated the Timberwolves 114-106 to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
    David Berding/Getty Images

    The Trade: Kyrie Irving for D'Angelo Russell

    This trade is weird, and it can probably only exist in the world in which Durant has already been traded somewhere.

    In terms of talent, Brooklyn isn't getting equal value by swapping Kyrie for D'Angelo Russell, but everything else that comes along with the enigmatic star is driving his value down.

    Any team (other than maybe the Lakers) is taking on something of a risk by giving anything up for Irving, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are already all-in on the present (the Gobert trade signaled that).

    One more move to raise their short-term ceiling might make sense, especially if they're unsure on whether they want to re-sign Russell next season.

    For Brooklyn, again, this probably only makes sense if KD is gone and someone like Brown is in his place. Who knows? Maybe Brown and Irving would get along, but there's little doubt the Nets would be further from a championship without Durant. That could make Irving even antsier to leave.

    And if that's the case, a one-year test drive with a former Net who actually made an All-Star team in Brooklyn might be worth it.

    It'd be an older rebuild, but a 1-2-3 of Russell, Smart and Brown wouldn't be a terrible place to start.

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