Kevin Durant has requested a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets, according to widespread reports.
With free agency due to start later on Thursday, the day’s biggest story is certain to centre around the former MVP.
Durant is under contract until 2026, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Nets general manager Sean Marks was working with the player and his business manager Rich Kleiman to find a trade.
The 12-time All-Star forward is now 33 yet would command a huge trade package.
Wojnarowski described Durant as “one of the most valuable trade assets ever on the market”. He added the Nets had taken calls and would expect “a historic return on players and draft picks”.
The Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat have been listed among potential destinations.
Murmurings of discontent around Durant, who joined the Nets from the Golden State Warriors in a 2019 sign-and-trade, had emerged in recent weeks.
Durant had sought to turn the Nets into a contender when he and close friend Kyrie Irving went to Brooklyn, where they were later joined by James Harden.
But the ‘big three’ did not deliver, and Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers last season as Irving spent an extended period on the sideline after refusing a coronavirus vaccine.
Irving eventually returned to play and has opted in to his contract with the Nets, but Durant now appears determined to force his way out.
The two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP would likely make any suitors a major threat in the 2022-23 season.
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