The biggest trade names on the NBA market are obvious at this point – Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell. It seems more and more likely that at least one of these two will have a new home next season if not both.
But the question no one seems to be asking is: what if they’re traded for each other? This proposed 4-team trade does just that and is verified by FanSpo’s Trade Machine.
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, Max Struss, Grizzlies 2024 Lottery Protected Pick, Heat 2029 Round 1 Pick
Miami Heat Receive: Kevin Durant
Utah Jazz Receive: Ben Simmons, Tyler Herro, Danny Green, Heat 2023 Round 1 Pick, Heat 2027 Round 1 Pick
Memphis Grizzlies Receive: Patrick Beverley
Why The Nets Would Do This
With Kevin Durant asking out, the asking price from Brooklyn has been incredibly high, as it should be. Reportedly demanding a minimum of two young NBA All-Stars, in addition to a slate of picks, there aren’t many teams that are capable of and willing to make a trade like that for the 34-year-old future Hall-of-Famer.
Gaining Mitchell and Adebayo gives them their two young stars and Max Strus is a great role player. Mitchell is reportedly looking to head to New York and join the Knicks, so he would assuredly be willing to go to Brooklyn instead, just like Durant and Kyrie Irving did a few years earlier.
While NY sportsbooks may not give them better odds than they had last year, a core of Mitchell, Adebayo, and (possibly) Irving is a big three worth building around.
Why The Heat Would Do This
They’re getting Kevin freaking Durant. With multiple years left on his deal, it’s almost unprecedented for a player of his caliber to get traded. Miami has reportedly been one of Durant’s preferred landing spots and is one of the leaders to acquire Durant, according to Vegas.
The Heat would be giving up an arm and a leg, sure, but adding Durant to Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry may be worth it. They’d be a small team, but Durant has made small-ball lineups work before in Golden State.
You could easily envision veteran role players seeking to join #HeatCulture and win an NBA championship with Butler and Durant to help fill out the roster and add some depth to replace the outgoing Adebayo, Herro, and Strus.
Why The Jazz Would Do This
As Brian Windhorst made famous a few weeks ago, we all need to be asking, “What’s going on in Utah?”
With the trade of Rudy Gobert, it seems fairly certain that the Jazz and executive Danny Ainge are entering full teardown mode. While no demands seem to have been made, the Jazz are now listening to offers for their NBA All-Star guard and a divorce feels inevitable.
Returning multiple first-round picks, a proven young player in Tyler Herro, and buying incredibly low on a young, multi-time All-Star in Ben Simmons would maybe make enough sense for Utah to pull the trigger.
Both of those are assets that could be easily flipped a few months or a year from now for a bigger return than the spare parts you’d get in a Mitchell trade from another team like the Knicks.
Of course, Jazz fans would have to stomach the idea of rooting for Ben Simmons, who they’ve mocked for years via Awards feuds with Mitchell and Gobert.
Why The Grizzlies Would Do This
This is the most simple answer of all four teams. The Grizzlies only give up one real asset (their lottery-protected 2024 pick – Danny Green will miss most of the season with a knee injury) and return a valuable player in PatBev.
Beverley would easily step into the role vacated by De’Anthony Melton’s trade to the Sixers and add even more dog to the home of Grit & Grind.
Is this trade likely to happen? Almost definitely not. Still, it’s late July and reckless NBA trade speculation is all we have left!