Kevin Durant requests a trade, but he can’t be a Nugget; here’s why

One of the 75 greatest NBA players ever, a 12-time All-Star, one of the most decorated American national team players ever and still an MVP caliber guy, Kevin Durant is pretty incredible as a basketball player.

On Thursday, reports surfaced that he wants out of Brooklyn after two seasons with the Nets.

It’s only natural for Nuggets nation to want a player as good as KD. Plus Durant has said he loves Denver in the past. Think about it. One MVP teams up with another in Nikola Jokic; who is stopping them? Well, the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

The Nets are not allowed to acquire a player like Bam Adebayo from the Heat because of the Designated Rookie Extension rule.

You cannot have 2 players acquired via a trade that were signed to that type of extension.

Brooklyn already has Ben Simmons. https://t.co/AWvLLVh1Op

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 30, 2022

ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that the Nets could not acquire another player who received the rookie extension. That means Denver couldn’t deal Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. in a deal for KD unless Brooklyn dumped Ben Simmons as well.

So what else could the Nuggets send out? They have one tradable first-round pick in 2029, young player Bones Hyland and Zeke Nnaji and not much else. Even to make the salaries work to make the trade cap compliant, they would have to give up Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who they got yesterday.

So are Gordon, Caldwell-Pope, Hyland and a distant first-round pick good enough for one of the best players in the history of the sport even at 34 years old and set to make a boatload of money over the next four years? No.

The Nuggets just do not have what it takes to get KD. So your dreams of Joker and Slim Reaper teaming up will have to stay dreams. Worse news, Nuggets fans? The Suns are at the top of Durant’s list.

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