There was a sense in some corners of the NBA that teams were holding off putting the final touches on their roster building — there were trades expected to be made, free agents expected to sign, that hadn’t happened yet. For example, when will the Utah Jazz start trading every veteran on the roster as they tank go into a deep rebuild? (The Donovan Mitchell trade situation plays into that.)
Patrick Beverley is one of those veteran Jazz players expected to be on the move (by the trade deadline at the latest). When news came down that Kevin Durant was sticking in Brooklyn (for now), Beverley blamed the lack of player movement on the KD trade talks.
Durant responded with a bit of fire.
There’s going to be a little extra heat when the Nets play whatever team Beverley ends up on this season — it doesn’t take much to rile up Beverley. But Beverley wasn’t the only one thinking this trade was the holdup.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Lakers are interested in Beverley and Bojan Bogdanovic of the Jazz, although pulling off that deal becomes a Russell Westbrook trade. While there are trades that would work on paper — Westbrook and the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round picks unprotected for Beverley, Bogdanovic, and either Jordan Clarkson or Michael Beasley — there are questions about whether both sides would do it. Danny Ainge and Utah will want both Lakers picks to make this a reality, and while the Lakers were willing to put both picks in a trade for a star like Kyrie Irving (now off the table), would they do it for a collection of quality role players? Even with those three guys, the Lakers are not title contenders. Is it worth it?
The Durant trade was not the only thing holding up parts of the market, but as we get close to training camps in five weeks, expect more deals to shake out.
Here’s more on the Nets
What does Durant, Irving staying in Brooklyn mean for top of East? Durant trade talks over, Nets and star “agreed to move forward with… Another report Nets now plan to keep Kyrie Irving this season
Patrick Beverley Tweet that Durant trade drama held up player moves gets KD’s response originally appeared on NBCSports.com