Kevin Durant seized center stage on Monday, upsetting the start of NBA free agency by requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, according to multiple reports.
Durant, 34, has four years and $194 million left on his contract. He is also one of the best basketball players on the planet. So expect all 29 teams to at least call Brooklyn to inquire on trade parameters.
While retaining Zach LaVine and getting involved in the Danilo Gallinari sweepstakes certainly still land on the Chicago Bulls’ to-do list, lead basketball executives must juggle plans simultaneously. So what could Artūras Karnišovas offer the Nets for Durant should he enter the bidding?
Certainly, the Nets will be asking for a monumental return. Durant reportedly has Phoenix on Miami on his list of preferred destinations. But the Nets are not beholden to Durant’s wishes when he’s under contract for four more seasons. They will seek the best possible package, while also trying to work in concert with Durant. Also, teams willing to give up the massive package it certainly will take to land him must make sure Durant will be happy or he could make another trade request.
It’s highly unlikely, but here are two packages from the Bulls that work under salary-cap rules — and a mega longshot:
Trade Scenario #1
Nets receive: DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams, Alex Caruso, the Bulls’ first-round pick (via Portland) and a future first-round pick
NBA
Bulls receive: Kevin Durant
In the first scenario, the Nets, who also still have Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons for now, would remain respectable while banking on the development of Williams and the picks panning out. The Nets do not have to bottom out. In fact, with much of their draft capital headed to Houston for the James Harden acquisition, they aren't incentivized to do so.
Caruso's salary could be swapped out for, say, Coby White if the Nets so desire. Ayo Dosunmu could be tossed in as well. It's Kevin Durant, after all.
Trade Scenario #2
Nets receive: Nikola Vučević, Patrick Williams, Coby White, the Bulls’ first-round pick from Portland and a future first-round pick
Bulls receive: Kevin Durant
In the second, Vučević owns an expiring salary that could either be flipped at next season’s trade deadline or offer salary-cap relief moving forward. Again, White's slot is interchangeable depending on the Nets' interest level.
In both scenarios, the Bulls' ability to package draft picks is severely limited by previous trades for Vučević and DeRozan. The Bulls owe their 2023 first to Orlando and 2025 first to San Antonio as part of those deals, and the Stepien Rule prohibits them from trading firsts in 2024 and 2026 as a result.
Williams aside, both packages are also headlined by either an All-Star (DeRozan) or former All-Star (Vučević) player in their 30s. The Nets' best available packages will likely be built around abundant draft capital and one or multiple young stars, lengthening the Bulls odds further.
The Longshot
LaVine isn’t included in either of the above speculative proposals because, as an unrestricted free agent, he could balk at being signed-and-traded to a likely rebuilding Nets team. But that is technically another avenue, and LaVine is probably the best single asset the Bulls have to offer.
Another problem, in addition to the major one of him needing to agree to sign with Brooklyn, is LaVine's base year compensation status, which halve his outgoing salary ($37.1 million in a max contract scenario) for trade purposes. That would leave the Bulls woefully short of matching Durant's $43 million salary and require multiple extra players to be involved — but any sign-and-trade deal the Nets agree to would need to result in them staying below the tax apron (projected $157 million), as they would be hard-capped.
So, yes. It's complicated. And even in the Bulls' biggest kitchen-sink scenario, their best offer would likely fall short of more asset-rich (in draft capital and young players) teams such as the Suns, Pelicans, Grizzlies and so on.
In this league, though, anything is possible. Stay tuned.
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