Celtics, Heat, Raptors: Breaking down three leading Durant trade options

Kevin Durant still wants to be traded out of Brooklyn. Nets owner Joe Tsai backed his coach and GM over Durant-desired shake-up, continuing down a path of feeling he needs to take back control of his franchise culture.

In many ways, this leaves us exactly where we were before Tsai and Durant met in London: Durant’s trade request will be granted. Eventually. However, the market is not offering what the Nets see as a fair price for an MVP-level player (when healthy) under contract for four more years, especially considering where the Rudy Gobert trade set the market. Other teams see the asking price as too steep and have not gotten in a bidding war (and third teams aren’t jumping in to facilitate a deal). The Nets are being patient. With training camps not opening until Sept. 27, there is little pressure on either side to get a deal done today (or in the near future). There are questions about whether Durant will show up to training camp if not traded yet, but both sides are now clear about where this story arc is headed.

The big question now isn’t whether a team ups its offer or the Nets lower their demands to get a deal done (or, a little of both), but rather what team?

Boston, Miami, and Toronto are the three teams Shams Charania of The Athletic mentioned in the story that broke the Durant/Tsai meeting news. That’s not an accident. They are the three frontrunners, let’s break down their chances.

If you connect the dots, this appears to be where Durant sees his best future now, even if Boston was not on his original two-team list of destinations (Miami and Phoenix). Every anonymously leaked story — as Charania’s story on the Durant/Tsai meeting was sourced — comes from someone talking to a reporter because they want to