The Brooklyn Nets have been at the center of the NBA rumor mill for essentially the entire month of July due to the fact that superstar Kevin Durant requested a trade earlier this offseason.
Granted, the majority of the rumors have had to do with teams trying to acquire Durant for somewhat lowball deals. However, there have been a few rumors that have made it clear the Nets could fulfill Durant’s wish for the right price.
One such rumor came out earlier this week when it was reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that the Nets are “angling” for Rookie of the Year award winner Scottie Barnes in trade talks with the Toronto Raptors.
“You mentioned Toronto being the favorite,” he said. “If they put in Scottie Barnes, which they haven’t done to this point, then I think you have a real conversation. That’s who Brooklyn is angling for (in trade talks with the Raptors).”
From this report alone, it seems clear that the Nets are looking to get back a young star in exchange for Durant. It’s an approach that makes a fair amount of sense.
One can assume that in any deal, a haul of draft capital would need to be sent to the Nets. While that’s great to have, it is also important to have young players to build around.
Having a player like Barnes on the roster would give fans something to be excited about now and help the front office determine which players to draft in the future in order to build around the young star.
Ultimately, any deal involving Durant still seems a ways off. In fact, it’s quite possible that the Nets start out the upcoming regular season with Durant still on the roster.
