Avery Johnson on Kevin Durant trade: ‘If I’m the Nets I’d call the Boston Celtics first’

CBS Sports has been running a series of videos ranking the potential Kevin Durant landing spots in a trade this offseason, and in a video released Monday afternoon, the Boston Celtics were listed at No. 2 in their countdown.

Durant has been primarily linked to the Phoenix Suns, which has caused the 2021 Western Conference champions to have their championship odds improve, but the Brooklyn Nets will reportedly take their time before accepting any deal in order to maximize the return.

While appearing on CBS Sports HQ, Avery Johnson, the former Nets head coach during their 2012 move to Brooklyn who was fired by the franchise after losing 13 straight games midway through the inaugural season in the borough, said that if he were running things in Kings County, the Boston Celtics would be the first team he called about a Durant deal — specifically mentioning Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, who Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix has insisted on himself on Brooklyn’s behalf in negotiations.

Here’s his answer from the CBS Sports HQ panel about how KD would end up on the Cs this summer:

"“If I’m the Brooklyn Nets, this is a team that, it may not be Kevin Durant’s favorite landing spot or one of his top two–because the reports are he’s talking more about the Heat and, I know we’ll get to the Phoenix Suns in a minute–but when you look at players you can get back in return, you’re talking about a Marcus Smart, potentially a Jaylen Brown…man that’s a good looking package in return, especially if you have to start a franchise over…”"

Avery Johnson likes the fit of Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart alongside Ben Simmons in Brooklyn if the Boston Celtics traded for Kevin Durant

Something that isn’t often spoken about when it pertains to Kevin Durant trade rumors is how the Nets would fare on the other side of it. Remember, Brooklyn mortgaged the future of the franchise when they traded three first round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) and four first round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027) to the Houston Rockets in the original James Harden-Nets trade that teamed ‘the beard’ with Durant and Kyrie Irving for 16 games total.

Undoubtedly, the package that keeps them the most competitive in any deal of their former 2x NBA Finals MVP is with the Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and whoever else would need to be included to have it signed off on. Johnson liked the idea of those two teaming with Ben Simmons at the Barclays Center 41 times a year (or more):

"“(Those are) guys that would have great synergy and chemistry with Ben Simmons once Simmons gets back to 100%.”"

Of course, Celtics PBO Brad Stevens would have to look himself in the mirror repeatedly and contemplate if the best move for the franchise whose front office he took over a year ago is to move all the chips to the center of the table–remember, multiple draft picks and swaps will be necessary–and trade for a seven-footer turning 34 in September that has suffered an Achilles tear, arguably the most painful and career-altering injury in sports.

We’d like to think that if Stevens did do the proper introspection, he’d keep all of his future picks, his 1A superstar, and his reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and instead consider being the third team in a three-way Durant deal that absorbs a salary into one of the C’s three TPEs.