Can you even believe what went down with the Kevin Durant trade? Seriously, the Brooklyn Nets, who everyone thought were getting fleeced, look like they pulled off one of the most lopsided deals in recent NBA history. It’s September 2026, and the fallout from KD’s departure is still shaking up the league, with Brooklyn sitting pretty after turning one unhappy superstar into a ridiculous haul of draft capital.
How Brooklyn Pulled Off The Impossible
Remember when Kevin Durant first wanted out? That was back in June of 2022, and he even named the Suns as his dream spot. When that didn’t happen, he came back with a second trade request at the 2023 deadline. It was clear as day he wanted out of Brooklyn, no matter how hard they tried to make it work in 2022-23. Everyone knew he was dead set on Phoenix, which usually crushes a team’s leverage. But somehow, Grant Hughes from Bleacher Report hit the nail on the head: the Nets “still extracted an absolute haul.” Phoenix sent Durant and TJ Warren packing, and in return, Brooklyn landed Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, *four* first-round picks from Phoenix in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029, plus a first-round pick swap in 2028. That’s five first-round assets right there, people. Five!
The Domino Effect That Landed Eleven Picks
But the Nets weren’t done. Oh no, not even close. While Durant is out there trying to win a title with the Houston Rockets, and TJ Warren along with Jae Crowder are both no longer in the league, Brooklyn kept stacking assets. They flipped Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, snagging *five more* first-round picks. Then, they sent Cam Johnson to the Denver Nuggets, bringing back another first-round pick and Michael Porter Jr. Think about that for a second: the initial trade with Phoenix gave them five first-round assets, and then they turned Bridges and Johnson into six more picks. That’s an astonishing eleven first-round assets that all trace back to moving one player who desperately wanted out. Talk about a masterclass in asset management.
The Nets are still rebuilding, sure, but they are doing it with a treasure chest of draft picks that almost nobody thought was possible. Phoenix, on the other hand, is definitely feeling the sting of shipping out those “five first-round assets for the rest of the decade,” as Hughes put it. This trade isn’t just good for Brooklyn, it’s a blueprint for how to win a breakup in the NBA. It’s going to be wild to watch them build with all those future picks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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