Report: Warriors “have interest” in some guy named Kevin Durant

So... the second former Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets the NBA offseason has reached another level of chaos. According to a report by ESPN’s Marc Spears, the Warriors have reached out to the Nets and expressed interest in acquiring Durant once again. Of course, the odds of any reunion remain exceedingly long, but what are offseasons for if not for pipedreams?

Prior to Durant’s request, this offseason seemed unlikely to see many big names change uniforms. This year’s free-agent class was fairly starless with restricted free agents like Deandre Ayton making the biggest names on the open market expected to change teams. Now, though, this offseason will be defined by the Nets and what their front office does with Kyrie Irving and Durant.

Durant, of course, emerged as one of the best players in the NBA early in his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but famously lost the 2016 Western Conference Finals to the 73-win Warriors before Golden State blew a 3-1 lead to the Cavaliers in the subsequent NBA Finals. Following that series, Durant hit free agency and changed NBA history by opting to join the Dubs on the heels of their historic season.

Despite a frustrating ending to his tenure in Golden State, Durant helped lead the Warriors to back-to-back championships in his first two seasons before helping them return to the Finals in his third and final year with the Dubs, when Durant suffered a catastrophic Achilles injury in the Finals.

Durant joined the Nets alongside Irving and Deandre Jordan, hoping to form a superteam of his own. However, things never came together in Brooklyn. Durant missed the entire first season while he recovered from his Achilles tear, but was limited to just 35 games in 2020-21 after suffering another injury. The Nets acquired James Harden in a trade to add another star to their roster, but it ultimately never panned out in Brooklyn. Harden was traded to the 76ers this season and after the Celtics swept the Nets in the first round of this year’s playoffs, it seemed like things were going to be shaken up in Brooklyn. Now following Durant’s trade request, that’s going to reach an even higher level.

Our own Sean Keane had 10 reasons Durant should want to return to the Warriors and Golden State does actually have many exciting pieces to potentially offer Brooklyn in a trade. A package built around Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins (Wiggins technically could not be traded to Brooklyn unless they moved Ben Simmons because of their rookie-extension status, but the Dubs could easily find a third-team to partner with in a deal). From there, the Dubs have exciting recent lottery picks like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman who would all be intriguing to Brooklyn.

What would you be willing to trade to put Durant back in a Warriors uniform? Where do you think KD will be playing next season? Let us know in the comments!