This summer, the biggest story around the NBA has been Kevin Durant’s trade request and the struggle the Brooklyn Nets have had dealing with the matter.
Many feel the Nets are asking for the sun and moon in return for Durant, but that such a price is unreasonable for him.
Los Angeles Lakers icon Shaquille O’Neal was asked by Rich Eisen if he thinks Durant will stay with Brooklyn. The Hall of Famer said he thinks the two-time NBA Finals MVP will take the easy way out and try to land with a contender.
“When you put a house together, you should live in it,” said O’Neal. “You was the one who hired the architect. You was the one who got the other architect from Philadelphia. So, you as the leader should make it work, but you don’t want to make it work, I guess you go buy another house. So, I know he’s gonna probably try to get to a contender. It’s easier that way.”
It is not exactly unheard of for a superstar of Durant’s caliber to ask out in order to be moved to a team that offers a better chance of winning a championship.
However, Durant doesn’t exactly have the track record of someone who sticks things out after tough playoff losses while his team retools, a la Stephen Curry or Kobe Bryant.
Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join Curry’s Golden State Warriors right after blowing a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 Western Conference Finals to those same Warriors.
He then bailed on the Warriors after they lost the 2019 NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors in order to team up with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn.
Even though some consider Durant the best player in basketball, he is going to turn 34 soon, and in recent years, he has struggled to remain healthy.
That would make trading assets for him a big gamble.
