Are the Boston Celtics actually frontrunners in a Kevin Durant trade?

The Athletic’s Sam Amick claims (subscription required) that the unofficial front-runner in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes is the Boston Celtics. Are they though? If that were the case, why doesn’t the label ‘official’ do the trick — replaced with a qualifier that almost doesn’t qualify anything at all?

From what we know, the C’s role atop the totem pole for landing the soon-to-be-34-year-old comes solely from Jaylen Brown’s inclusion in a deal. Other teams like the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat could budge and regain the original ground they had if and only if A) they both find a way to reroute Ben Simmons to a third team with cap space like the Indiana Pacers to circumvent the Designated Rookie Rule and include Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo, respectively, and B) come closer to meeting the Brooklyn Nets’ draft capital demands, which could be crazy but almost have every right to be considering their front office has to satisfy the demands of owner Joe Tsai in the deal not to be fired more so than fulfilling any courtesy of sending Durant where he wants.

As the days go by, momentum for the current roster sticking with the ‘status quo’ appears the likeliest course of action. Durant seems unattainable at the moment as the Nets front office aims to maintain the façade of control by getting a maximum return for their disgruntled all-time scorer coming off a near-30 point per game campaign.

Late September, when training camp opens, has been pegged as when the heat will be turned up on a KD deal, but the odds of an Eastern Conference championship-winning roster returning its top eight rotation pieces and adding Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari in bench roles will be butchered right as the quest for Banner 18 truly begins.

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has been known to shake things up midseason–this in the one season he has been able to, of course–and has certainly rocked the boat the past two offseasons with a roster improved upon the one handed to him initially. But adding Durant at this juncture seems unlikely despite what the odds say.

The Golden State Warriors winning the championship in June over a team that swept Durant’s Nets naturally thrust the former 2x MVP in a Dubs uniform to be the center of attention this offseason. That team that swept him may just be fine, with improvement more closely needed around the fringes.

A more pressing matter for the Boston Celtics than a Kevin Durant trade

I don’t want to come off as though I’d not be ecstatic about the prospect of Kevin Durant in a Boston Celtics uniform. The thought of him and Jayson Tatum taking turns dissecting defenses and playing within Ime Udoka’s system as two All-NBA First Teamers in their career is intoxicating.

But with the likely scenario this current group is headed into the 2022-23 season, with a few minor additions to be added around the fringes, the backup big man role behind Al Horford and Robert Williams and a wing will be the areas of focus for the rest of the offseason.