NBA Rumors: Raptors Could Acquire Kevin Durant For Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby & Gary Trent Jr.

One of the dark-horse landing spots for Durant this summer is the Toronto Raptors. In a recent article, Dan Devine of The Ringer came up with the five most exciting trade packages that the Nets could get from trading Durant.

These include a hypothetical deal that would send KD to the North in the 2022 NBA offseason. In the proposed trade scenario, the Raptors would be offering Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. to the Nets in exchange for Durant.

It's hard to imagine the Raptors trading Barnes after he just won the Rookie of the Year, but team president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is known for making such moves.

In 2018, Ujiri sent fan-favorite DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard. Though Leonard only ended up being a one-year rental, he helped the Raptors win their first-ever NBA championship title in the 2018-19 NBA season.

Durant may already be 33, but he's still one of the best active players in the league. When surrounded by the right players, he would give the Raptors a realistic chance of capturing their second Larry O'Brien Trophy next year.

Durant could give the Raptors something similar to what they got when they traded for Leonard. Aside from providing them with a legitimate No. 1 scoring option, Durant can also help with rebounding, facilitating the ball, defending the opposing team's best players, and spacing the floor. Last season, he averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.

However, the Raptors' offseason shouldn't stop at bringing Durant to Toronto. If they are serious about returning to the NBA Finals and winning the 2023 NBA title, the Raptors should further solidify their core around the trio of Durant, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet.

The proposed blockbuster deal would make a lot of sense for the Nets, especially if they want to rebuild the team around Ben Simmons. By sending their disgruntled superstar to Toronto, the Nets would be acquiring a rising star in Barnes and two young, solid role players in Anunoby and Trent Jr.

Having two legitimate floor spacers like Anunoby and Trent Jr. would benefit Simmons as it would make it easier for him to penetrate the basket or kick the ball out when the opposing team's defense traps him.

If the core of Simmons, Barnes, Anunoby and Trent Jr. grow together and build good chemistry, it wouldn't take long before the Nets start making a huge noise in the Eastern Conference once again.