Kevin Durant trade rumours: Will Raptors deal Scottie Barnes?

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Six years ago today, Kevin Durant shocked the basketball world by deciding to sign with the Golden State Warriors, and join Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to create a super team that went on to the next three NBA Finals, winning two of them.

Durant rocked the NBA a second time last week, requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. Will we again learn where his new home will be on the U.S. Independence Day?

Durant, 33, has reportedly listed Phoenix and Miami as his preferred trade destinations but half the NBA is expected to kick the tires in a deal for one of the league’s current top five players who was recently voted one of the best 75 to ever play in the NBA.

One of those teams, of course, would be the Raptors, and fans here were debating all weekend over who they’d include in a potential trade for the 12-time all-star who ruptured his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals in Toronto. After missing the entire 2019-20 season, he has played just 90 games in the last two regular seasons.

Here’s a sampling of what has been said among some of the top NBA insiders in the U.S., and speculation on what a potential deal could look like (with link to full story):

The Athletic

Of all the non-Phoenix destinations, however, the one that seems the most realistic is Toronto. The Raptors have a lot of interesting pieces, plentiful options for salary matching, own all their future picks, and are unafraid to spend into the tax for a winner. The question: Where is the line for the Raptors? Is it worth surrendering rookie of the year Scottie Barnes? I’ll go with “hell no” on that one, actually, as the Raptors would be trading a decade-plus window with Barnes for a short-term supernova with Durant. Keeping Barnes, on the other hand, is the thing that would make surrendering a ton of future draft equity for Durant palatable.

CBS Sports

Toronto loves nothing more than long, lanky wings. Durant is the best of them all. The Raptors already have one of the NBA’s most imposing defence. Durant could solve their half-court offensive issues in a snap. The questions here are the same as they are for Cleveland. Does Durant want to go north of the border? And are the Raptors willing to sacrifice Scottie Barnes’ whole career for a brief title window? Again, I think the answer is no.

The Ringer

Durant for Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr.

OR

Pascal Siakam and Anunoby, plus multiple first-round picks and multiple swaps.

This probably comes down to how dearly (Brooklyn GM Sean) Marks values Barnes. If he sees the reigning rookie of the year as a potential franchise cornerstone who can lead Brooklyn for years to come, then maybe he’s willing to take a slightly lesser “win-now” package in favour of locking in that long-term upside. If not, well, Masai Ujiri can instead structure the offer around a 28-year-old two-time all-NBA wing playing arguably the best ball of his career, plus Anunoby, an all-defence-calibre swingman with potential 20-point-scoring upside. On one hand, it’s a lot to give up for a player who might not necessarily want to be there (although KD did want to be a Raptor once upon a time). On the other hand, Ujiri is pretty famously un-shook when it comes to betting on himself and Toronto, and it’s panned out pretty well for him before.

Sports Illustrated

Durant for Barnes, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick swap, 2029 first-round pick.

The one would be the sequel to the Kawhi Leonard trade, but also illustrates how difficult it is to gauge Durant’s value. Would the Nets demand Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes? This conversation comes down to how Brooklyn sees Barnes’s potential. It’s possible he’s on his way to being the leader on a great team, which would give the Nets a budding star to build around, a few rotation pieces who fit in nicely with the current group, and draft capital that would come after Durant’s contract expires.

USA Today

Toronto is an intriguing potential destination, as the Raptors could put together an attractive trade package that would allow them to retain most of their top players. With Durant, the Raptors would be a formidable contender in the East. A big question would be whether the Raptors are willing to part with Scottie Barnes, the NBA’s reigning rookie of the year. Toronto would do everything it could to keep Barnes, but Brooklyn would presumably covet him as the centrepiece of any return for Durant.

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