Ex-Celtics Star Rips Kevin Durant Trade Pursuit As ‘Terrible Decision’

The Boston Celtics have a lot going for them right now.

So, when former Celtics star Antoine Walker learned Monday morning that Boston reportedly offered Jaylen Brown as part of a trade package for Kevin Durant, he wasn’t too happy about it.

“I’m so disappointed this morning, because I think this is a terrible decision,” Walker said Monday on FS1’s “First Things First. “This would be a terrible decision. I know people will be like, ‘Wait a minute, this is Kevin Durant. This is arguably a top-three player in the league and of course you make a trade for him.’ But no, you don’t tear up what you’ve worked so hard to build.

“We’re talking about a team that is young — their core is young — and I know everybody hates to talk about age, but when you think about Brown’s 25, (Jayson) Tatum’s 24, (Marcus) Smart’s 28, Robert Williams is 24. Your core is young. You just lost in the sixth game of the Finals. Everything’s in place. You have an identity. And I was just giving them praise for having the best summer, to me, out of any team in the league, because you added a point guard in Malcolm Brogdon, (Danilo) Gallinari, another guy who can come off the bench and score. So your team is set. You’re coming into training camp ready to go, ready to chase a title, your two star players should be very hungry. I think losing in the Finals, they should be ready to go. And now you’re getting involved in this big Kevin Durant situation.”

The Nets reportedly rejected an offer that included Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick, and countered by asking for any proposal to include Brown, Marcus Smart, picks and potentially one more rotation player. Whether Boston ultimately will meet Brooklyn’s demands remains to be seen.

Walker, who played parts of eight seasons with Boston (1996-2003, 2005), believes the Celtics already dropped the ball by engaging with the Nets, though. The C’s have a star tandem in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, plus a supporting cast that only got stronger this offseason with the additions of Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari. One could argue a KD trade simply isn’t worth the risk, all things considered, and that Boston would be better off staying the course.

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“My problem with Kevin Durant is not basketball,” Walker said. “We know he loves to play basketball. But is Kevin Durant committed to winning NBA titles? We don’t know that. He wants out of Brooklyn. He didn’t say, ‘Well, I want to go win a title.’ He just said, ‘I want to get traded out of Brooklyn.’ This guy had an opportunity to win four or five titles. He was on the Golden State Warriors, a team that won the NBA title. They could’ve won five or six titles. If Kevin Durant was so concerned with winning titles, he would be still there.

“Why would you break up something that you’ve got the mindset, the right people in place, your core’s young and you can get them for the next three or four years? So, why would you do that? And on top of that, now you just put Jaylen Brown in trade talks again. This young man has got to go through this again? … I think it’s a bad decision by the Celtics. They never should have entertained this. I know sometimes you see a guy like Kevin Durant, obviously you just think you should put a couple of names in a hat. But they don’t need it. They’re already built, they’re already set for the next three or four years to contend for a title.”

All told, the rest of the Celtics’ summer just became that much more intriguing.