How long will Kevin Durant’s trade request linger? History says NBA star trades take a while
Kevin Durant didn’t get it.
It was October 2018, back when his powers were at their peak with Golden State and all was still well in his Warriors world. (His on-court blow-up with Draymond Green was a month later.) We were sitting at the team’s practice facility discussing the kind of topic that only reigning champions can broach: What teams might have a chance to knock you off the throne?
When the interview ended and a casual conversation began, the topic shifted to the news of the summer: Jimmy Butler and his uncomfortably loud trade demand from Minnesota. Durant didn’t go into any great detail on the subject, but there was this unmistakable sense that he didn’t see the situation as worthy of the nonstop media attention it was getting.
Just days before, Butler had stolen the national spotlight with the infamous practice punking in which he beat the team’s starters while playing with the second team and then jumped on ESPN to talk about it. It was … a lot. As Durant has said many times before, he wishes reporters and fans would focus more on the game itself and less on the constant drama that surrounds it.
Yet four summers later, here we are.
Regardless of the Kyrie Irving/James Harden/Ben Simmons subplots that have played a pivotal part in Durant’s situation, the fact remains that he’s doing something that has never been done here. With four years and $194 million left on his deal, the 33-year-old (34 on Sept. 29) not only demanded a trade on June 30, but also, per our Shams Charania, informed owner Joe Tsai in early August that the only way to keep him would be to fire general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash. Tsai, in turn, made it clear that both will be going nowhere by way of his public support on Twitter.
“We will make decisions based in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets,” Tsai declared.
This is some next-level boldness from Durant, to say the least. And while he made it clear (via Twitter) on Monday that speculation about his possible retirement is off-base, the ironic question now becomes: If a trade doesn’t materialize before Nets camp begins in late September, is Durant willing to go full Jimmy Butler if he doesn’t get what he wants? Or, perhaps, will he go the route of his Nets teammate Simmons and not report to camp (as Simmons did in Philadelphia last season)?
Most folks around the league with whom I spoke seem to believe the answer is no, but we shall see. As for the notion that the Marks-Nash ultimatum might speed up the process by forcing the Nets to lower their lofty demands in a deal, I didn’t find much support for that idea either.
“Marks is still asking for the world; that won’t change,” one front office executive texted late last week. “They could call his bluff and make him come to camp. I can’t see him sitting out.”
While that ultimately might be the case, this situation hardly seems headed the way of Kobe Bryant’s unfulfilled Los Angeles Lakers trade request in the summer of 2007 either. By most accounts, the end has unofficially arrived between Durant and the Nets.
Among the executives with whom I spoke, a Boston deal with Jaylen Brown as the centerpiece appears to be the unofficial front-runner here. In general terms, sources say the Nets are using the fact that the Celtics (and perhaps other teams) have made their second-best player available as a baseline of sorts in negotiations. Translation: If you’re still trying to discuss a Durant deal without putting your second-best talent on the table, then just stop wasting everyone’s time and bow out of this race.
And who can blame the Nets for taking this stance? As our Seth Partnow reminded us in his NBA Player Tiers recently, Durant is as elite as they come: a “Tier 1A” player in the project in which Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are the only other players to be given that distinction.
So we wait for a deal to come together — just like we have all those times before.
Truth be told, no one should be surprised it’s taking this long. In the interest of passing the time before camp and contextualizing the league’s latest star player trade demand, let’s take a look at the most prominent ones who came before. If nothing else, this should serve as a reminder that the waiting game is almost always part of this process, especially when the player makes such a move with more than one season left on his deal.
Read more: The 2022-23 NBA season schedule will be released August 17, but won’t play on Election Day.
It’s fascinating to look back on the way each player chose to handle his situation too. Butler was hardly the only one who escalated an already sensitive situation with his chosen style. There was James Harden, circa his final days in Houston and Brooklyn, when he made it so abundantly clear on and off the floor that he wanted out that it irked those around him and seemed to speed up his exit.
There was plenty of that with Anthony Davis in New Orleans as well. Ditto for Dwight Howard in Orlando. And plenty of others along the way.
A closer look
Kevin Durant
Asked out: Late June 2022. (Miami and Phoenix were initially his preferences).
Contract status: Entering the first season of a four-year, $194 million deal.
Other high-profile stars who have asked out since 2010
Editor’s Note: The list below is intended to highlight the most notable star players to force a trade since 2010. It is not all-inclusive.
Carmelo Anthony
Asked out: Late August 2010. (Anthony tells the Denver Nuggets he wants out; Nets, LA Clippers, Warriors, Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets are mentioned as the most likely possibilities. The New York Knicks possibility is reported as unlikely.)
Sidenote: Masai Ujiri, who has headed Toronto’s front office since 2013 and whose Raptors are known to be in the mix for Durant, was hired as Denver’s general manager not long before Anthony’s trade request and ultimately led the way on the deal with New York.
Trade date: Feb. 21, 2011. (‘Melo to New York.)
Time elapsed: Six months.
Contract status: Anthony was entering the last season of his five-year, $78.8 million deal when he asked out and was just a few months away from free agency when he was finally dealt to the Knicks.
Chris Paul (the Hornets chapter)
Asked out: Dec. 1, 2011. (With the post-lockout season nearing, Paul’s agent reportedly tells the New Orleans Hornets that he wants a trade to Anthony’s Knicks.)
Trade date: Dec. 14, 2011. (Paul is traded to the Clippers.)
Sidenote: For the younger readers who somehow might not be aware, a three-team deal sending Paul to the Lakers — which had been finalized mid-day on Dec. 8 — was vetoed by late NBA Commissioner David Stern later that night.
Time elapsed (from the initial request to the Clippers trade): Two weeks.
Contract status: Paul was entering the third season of his four-year, $63.6 million deal (fourth-year player option) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Dwight Howard
Asked out: Dec. 10, 2011. (Howard asks for a trade, reportedly prefers Brooklyn; Howard changes his stance the next day.)
Asked … in?: March 15, 2012. (Howard signs a waiver saying he won’t opt out of the final year of his deal, says he’ll stay through the summer of 2013.)
Asked out (again): June 30, 2012. (Howard asks for a trade for a second time.)
Trade date: Aug. 10, 2012. (He’s traded to the Lakers.)
Time elapsed (from the initial ask-out, minus the time between when he signed the waiver to when he asked out again): Three and a half months.
Contract status: Howard was in the fourth season of his five-year, $83 million deal when the initial trade request was lodged. He was entering the final season of his deal when he was traded.
Paul George
Asked out: February 2017. (George meets with Pacers owner Herb Simon and tells him he’s likely headed for Laker Land.)
Traded: June 30, 2017. (George traded to Oklahoma City.)
Time elapsed: Four months.
Contract status: George was midway through the third season of his five-year, $91 million deal (fifth-year player option) when he asked out and was entering the fourth season when he was traded.
Asked out: July 21, 2017. (Kyrie makes it clear to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert that he wants out of Cleveland. It would later be reported that the Celtics were Irving’s preferred destination.)
Traded: Aug. 22, 2017. (Kyrie traded to Boston.)
Time elapsed: One month.
Contract status: Irving was entering the third season of his five-year, $94 million deal (fifth-year player option) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Asked out: June 15, 2018. (Leonard wants out of San Antonio, prefers Lakers.)
Trade date: July 18, 2018. (Traded to Toronto.)
Time elapsed: One month
Contract status: Leonard was entering the fourth season of his five-year, $94 million deal (player option in the fifth year) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Jimmy Butler
Asked out: Sept. 29, 2018. (Butler asks for a trade; the Clippers, Nets and Knicks are reported as his preferred destinations. Butler would later indicate that he’d made his desires known earlier in the summer to then-coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau.)
Trade date: Nov. 12, 2018. (Butler traded to Philadelphia.)
Time elapsed: Six weeks.
Contract status: Butler was entering the fourth season of his five-year, $92 million deal (player option in the fifth year) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Anthony Davis
Asked out: Late January 2019. (Davis asks for a trade from New Orleans and makes it clear he won’t re-sign; Lakers, Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Clippers are cited as preferred destinations, but the Lakers are the clear priority for Davis.)
Traded: June 15, 2019. (Davis traded to the Lakers.)
Time elapsed: Four and a half months.
Contract status: Davis was midway through the third season of his five-year, $127 million deal (fifth-year player option) when he asked out. He was entering the fourth season of his deal when he was traded.
James Harden (the Rockets chapter)
Asked out: Mid-November 2020. (Russell Westbrook’s trade request, as we would later learn, was a product of him learning that Harden wanted out. Philadelphia and Brooklyn are cited as Harden’s preferred destinations.)
Traded: Jan. 14, 2021. (Harden traded to Brooklyn.)
Time elapsed: Two months.
Contract status: Harden was in the second season of his four-year, $171 million deal (fourth-year player option) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Sidenote: Some 13 months later, of course, Harden’s latest bout with professional unhappiness had everything to do with his trade to the Sixers on Feb. 10.
Asked out: Late August 2021. (Simmons asks for a trade in a meeting with Sixers officials.)
Traded: Feb. 10, 2022. (Simmons traded to Brooklyn.)
Time elapsed: Five and a half months.
Contract status: Simmons was entering the second season of a five-year, $177 million deal (no options) when he asked out and was midway through that season when he was traded.
*Contract information provided by Spotrac
So what does history tell us?
Star player trades (typically) take a while
While there are examples on both ends of the timeline spectrum, the average length of time with these examples is 88.4 days. As it stands, Durant is six weeks into this latest star saga. Among this group, Anthony’s situation (six months) took the longest to resolve, followed by Simmons (five and a half months).
Star players (typically) ask out later in their respective contracts
Of the 10 players cited, only Simmons (who was entering Year 2 and had four seasons left on his deal) asked out with more than two seasons left on his deal (with player options factored in). Of those nine, five asked out entering their second-to-last season or during it (Howard, Davis, Harden, Irving and George), and the other four (Anthony, Paul, Leonard and Butler) waited until the summer heading into that final campaign on their deal to request a trade.
In theory, that Durant has four years left on his deal should incentivize suitors to put even more on the table to secure his services. But in reality, no team should want Durant on its roster if he doesn’t want to be there. No team can afford to give up a treasure trove of players and assets only to see Durant either unhappy or, even worse, sitting out.
Star players don’t always get what they want
Of the 10 players highlighted, nine had preferred destinations that were either known at the time of the trade request or were revealed after the deal was done (Simmons was the outlier). Of that group, four were traded to a team that was known to be a top preference (Anthony, Davis, Harden and Irving) while five (Paul, Howard, Leonard, Butler and George) were not.
There’s nothing typical about this Durant situation though, so who knows what might come next? After all these years of on-court excellence that have cemented his reputation as an all-time great, he’s making the wrong kind of history here now.
How long will Kevin Durant’s trade request linger? History says NBA star trades take a while
Kevin Durant didn’t get it.
It was October 2018, back when his powers were at their peak with Golden State and all was still well in his Warriors world. (His on-court blow-up with Draymond Green was a month later.) We were sitting at the team’s practice facility discussing the kind of topic that only reigning champions can broach: What teams might have a chance to knock you off the throne?
When the interview ended and a casual conversation began, the topic shifted to the news of the summer: Jimmy Butler and his uncomfortably loud trade demand from Minnesota. Durant didn’t go into any great detail on the subject, but there was this unmistakable sense that he didn’t see the situation as worthy of the nonstop media attention it was getting.
Just days before, Butler had stolen the national spotlight with the infamous practice punking in which he beat the team’s starters while playing with the second team and then jumped on ESPN to talk about it. It was … a lot. As Durant has said many times before, he wishes reporters and fans would focus more on the game itself and less on the constant drama that surrounds it.
Yet four summers later, here we are.
Regardless of the Kyrie Irving/James Harden/Ben Simmons subplots that have played a pivotal part in Durant’s situation, the fact remains that he’s doing something that has never been done here. With four years and $194 million left on his deal, the 33-year-old (34 on Sept. 29) not only demanded a trade on June 30, but also, per our Shams Charania, informed owner Joe Tsai in early August that the only way to keep him would be to fire general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash. Tsai, in turn, made it clear that both will be going nowhere by way of his public support on Twitter.
“We will make decisions based in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets,” Tsai declared.
This is some next-level boldness from Durant, to say the least. And while he made it clear (via Twitter) on Monday that speculation about his possible retirement is off-base, the ironic question now becomes: If a trade doesn’t materialize before Nets camp begins in late September, is Durant willing to go full Jimmy Butler if he doesn’t get what he wants? Or, perhaps, will he go the route of his Nets teammate Simmons and not report to camp (as Simmons did in Philadelphia last season)?
Most folks around the league with whom I spoke seem to believe the answer is no, but we shall see. As for the notion that the Marks-Nash ultimatum might speed up the process by forcing the Nets to lower their lofty demands in a deal, I didn’t find much support for that idea either.
“Marks is still asking for the world; that won’t change,” one front office executive texted late last week. “They could call his bluff and make him come to camp. I can’t see him sitting out.”
While that ultimately might be the case, this situation hardly seems headed the way of Kobe Bryant’s unfulfilled Los Angeles Lakers trade request in the summer of 2007 either. By most accounts, the end has unofficially arrived between Durant and the Nets.
Among the executives with whom I spoke, a Boston deal with Jaylen Brown as the centerpiece appears to be the unofficial front-runner here. In general terms, sources say the Nets are using the fact that the Celtics (and perhaps other teams) have made their second-best player available as a baseline of sorts in negotiations. Translation: If you’re still trying to discuss a Durant deal without putting your second-best talent on the table, then just stop wasting everyone’s time and bow out of this race.
And who can blame the Nets for taking this stance? As our Seth Partnow reminded us in his NBA Player Tiers recently, Durant is as elite as they come: a “Tier 1A” player in the project in which Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are the only other players to be given that distinction.
So we wait for a deal to come together — just like we have all those times before.
Truth be told, no one should be surprised it’s taking this long. In the interest of passing the time before camp and contextualizing the league’s latest star player trade demand, let’s take a look at the most prominent ones who came before. If nothing else, this should serve as a reminder that the waiting game is almost always part of this process, especially when the player makes such a move with more than one season left on his deal.
Read more: The 2022-23 NBA season schedule will be released August 17, but won’t play on Election Day.
It’s fascinating to look back on the way each player chose to handle his situation too. Butler was hardly the only one who escalated an already sensitive situation with his chosen style. There was James Harden, circa his final days in Houston and Brooklyn, when he made it so abundantly clear on and off the floor that he wanted out that it irked those around him and seemed to speed up his exit.
There was plenty of that with Anthony Davis in New Orleans as well. Ditto for Dwight Howard in Orlando. And plenty of others along the way.
A closer look
Kevin Durant
Asked out: Late June 2022. (Miami and Phoenix were initially his preferences).
Contract status: Entering the first season of a four-year, $194 million deal.
Other high-profile stars who have asked out since 2010
Editor’s Note: The list below is intended to highlight the most notable star players to force a trade since 2010. It is not all-inclusive.
Carmelo Anthony
Asked out: Late August 2010. (Anthony tells the Denver Nuggets he wants out; Nets, LA Clippers, Warriors, Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets are mentioned as the most likely possibilities. The New York Knicks possibility is reported as unlikely.)
Sidenote: Masai Ujiri, who has headed Toronto’s front office since 2013 and whose Raptors are known to be in the mix for Durant, was hired as Denver’s general manager not long before Anthony’s trade request and ultimately led the way on the deal with New York.
Trade date: Feb. 21, 2011. (‘Melo to New York.)
Time elapsed: Six months.
Contract status: Anthony was entering the last season of his five-year, $78.8 million deal when he asked out and was just a few months away from free agency when he was finally dealt to the Knicks.
Chris Paul (the Hornets chapter)
Asked out: Dec. 1, 2011. (With the post-lockout season nearing, Paul’s agent reportedly tells the New Orleans Hornets that he wants a trade to Anthony’s Knicks.)
Trade date: Dec. 14, 2011. (Paul is traded to the Clippers.)
Sidenote: For the younger readers who somehow might not be aware, a three-team deal sending Paul to the Lakers — which had been finalized mid-day on Dec. 8 — was vetoed by late NBA Commissioner David Stern later that night.
Time elapsed (from the initial request to the Clippers trade): Two weeks.
Contract status: Paul was entering the third season of his four-year, $63.6 million deal (fourth-year player option) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Dwight Howard
Asked out: Dec. 10, 2011. (Howard asks for a trade, reportedly prefers Brooklyn; Howard changes his stance the next day.)
Asked … in?: March 15, 2012. (Howard signs a waiver saying he won’t opt out of the final year of his deal, says he’ll stay through the summer of 2013.)
Asked out (again): June 30, 2012. (Howard asks for a trade for a second time.)
Trade date: Aug. 10, 2012. (He’s traded to the Lakers.)
Time elapsed (from the initial ask-out, minus the time between when he signed the waiver to when he asked out again): Three and a half months.
Contract status: Howard was in the fourth season of his five-year, $83 million deal when the initial trade request was lodged. He was entering the final season of his deal when he was traded.
Paul George
Asked out: February 2017. (George meets with Pacers owner Herb Simon and tells him he’s likely headed for Laker Land.)
Traded: June 30, 2017. (George traded to Oklahoma City.)
Time elapsed: Four months.
Contract status: George was midway through the third season of his five-year, $91 million deal (fifth-year player option) when he asked out and was entering the fourth season when he was traded.
Asked out: July 21, 2017. (Kyrie makes it clear to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert that he wants out of Cleveland. It would later be reported that the Celtics were Irving’s preferred destination.)
Traded: Aug. 22, 2017. (Kyrie traded to Boston.)
Time elapsed: One month.
Contract status: Irving was entering the third season of his five-year, $94 million deal (fifth-year player option) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Asked out: June 15, 2018. (Leonard wants out of San Antonio, prefers Lakers.)
Trade date: July 18, 2018. (Traded to Toronto.)
Time elapsed: One month
Contract status: Leonard was entering the fourth season of his five-year, $94 million deal (player option in the fifth year) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Jimmy Butler
Asked out: Sept. 29, 2018. (Butler asks for a trade; the Clippers, Nets and Knicks are reported as his preferred destinations. Butler would later indicate that he’d made his desires known earlier in the summer to then-coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau.)
Trade date: Nov. 12, 2018. (Butler traded to Philadelphia.)
Time elapsed: Six weeks.
Contract status: Butler was entering the fourth season of his five-year, $92 million deal (player option in the fifth year) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Anthony Davis
Asked out: Late January 2019. (Davis asks for a trade from New Orleans and makes it clear he won’t re-sign; Lakers, Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Clippers are cited as preferred destinations, but the Lakers are the clear priority for Davis.)
Traded: June 15, 2019. (Davis traded to the Lakers.)
Time elapsed: Four and a half months.
Contract status: Davis was midway through the third season of his five-year, $127 million deal (fifth-year player option) when he asked out. He was entering the fourth season of his deal when he was traded.
James Harden (the Rockets chapter)
Asked out: Mid-November 2020. (Russell Westbrook’s trade request, as we would later learn, was a product of him learning that Harden wanted out. Philadelphia and Brooklyn are cited as Harden’s preferred destinations.)
Traded: Jan. 14, 2021. (Harden traded to Brooklyn.)
Time elapsed: Two months.
Contract status: Harden was in the second season of his four-year, $171 million deal (fourth-year player option) when he asked out and when he was traded.
Sidenote: Some 13 months later, of course, Harden’s latest bout with professional unhappiness had everything to do with his trade to the Sixers on Feb. 10.
Asked out: Late August 2021. (Simmons asks for a trade in a meeting with Sixers officials.)
Traded: Feb. 10, 2022. (Simmons traded to Brooklyn.)
Time elapsed: Five and a half months.
Contract status: Simmons was entering the second season of a five-year, $177 million deal (no options) when he asked out and was midway through that season when he was traded.
*Contract information provided by Spotrac
So what does history tell us?
Star player trades (typically) take a while
While there are examples on both ends of the timeline spectrum, the average length of time with these examples is 88.4 days. As it stands, Durant is six weeks into this latest star saga. Among this group, Anthony’s situation (six months) took the longest to resolve, followed by Simmons (five and a half months).
Star players (typically) ask out later in their respective contracts
Of the 10 players cited, only Simmons (who was entering Year 2 and had four seasons left on his deal) asked out with more than two seasons left on his deal (with player options factored in). Of those nine, five asked out entering their second-to-last season or during it (Howard, Davis, Harden, Irving and George), and the other four (Anthony, Paul, Leonard and Butler) waited until the summer heading into that final campaign on their deal to request a trade.
In theory, that Durant has four years left on his deal should incentivize suitors to put even more on the table to secure his services. But in reality, no team should want Durant on its roster if he doesn’t want to be there. No team can afford to give up a treasure trove of players and assets only to see Durant either unhappy or, even worse, sitting out.
Star players don’t always get what they want
Of the 10 players highlighted, nine had preferred destinations that were either known at the time of the trade request or were revealed after the deal was done (Simmons was the outlier). Of that group, four were traded to a team that was known to be a top preference (Anthony, Davis, Harden and Irving) while five (Paul, Howard, Leonard, Butler and George) were not.
There’s nothing typical about this Durant situation though, so who knows what might come next? After all these years of on-court excellence that have cemented his reputation as an all-time great, he’s making the wrong kind of history here now.
