How Kevin Durant trade rumors impact NBA’s best rivalry: Grizzlies vs. Warriors would become supercharged with deal for KD

Abraham Smith

A new contender has reportedly emerged in the Kevin Durant Sweepstakes.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Grizzlies “have made new inquiries to the Nets about Durant,” who reportedly on Aug. 8 repeated his first trade inquiry from late June.

While training camps for the 2022/23 season are set to open next month, there doesn’t seem to be any significant movement to suggest a move for Durant is imminent.

The Grizzlies, who finished last season with the second-best record in the league, have a bevy of young talent and a horde of future draft picks they could part with in a hypothetical Durant trade.

Any deal Durant is involved in is worth intrigue, but a deal with Memphis would be interesting in more ways than one. Durant would not only elevate the Grizzlies to the status of legitimate title favorites, but also add even more allure to one of the NBA’s newest — and most entertaining — rivalries.

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How Kevin Durant Rumors Are Impacting The NBA’s Best Rivalry

After the Grizzlies burst onto the scene in the 2021-22 season, it wasn’t long before they started a rivalry with the Warriors.

Is anyone really surprised?

Memphis has a fearless, up-and-coming group that isn’t afraid to speak up and back up their words while they’re on the ground. Golden State, on the other hand, is an established team that doesn’t mind the gossip, but the savvy veterans let the process run its course before handing it back.

During their 2022 title run, the Warriors made sure to pay him back, with Klay Thompson calls Jaren Jackson Jr. and Draymond Green and Ja Morant have a back and forth on Twitter. (All in good spirits, of course.)

As a result, the two teams will meet at Christmas and during the NBA’s Rivals Week next season. Each of these games is worth circling in your calendar without Durant involved. Now imagine if the Grizzlies added Durant to the mix.

Though years have passed since Durant left the Warriors as a free agent, the year-long preparation for his departure has been a subplot for all involved over the past three seasons.

With Durant in the Eastern Conference, he has only faced his old teammates three times since leaving The Bay. Put Durant on one of the best teams in the West and you have a schedule where he could hit the Warriors up to 11 times in a season. It’s easy to be nice at two annual meetings, but when you line up these competitors 11 times in one year, you can guarantee things will get spirited.

And we haven’t even talked about how good the Grizzlies would be at Durant.

According to Charania, the Grizzlies “so far don’t appear inclined to include Jaren Jackson Jr. or Desmond Bane in a potential bid,” a fact that likely needs to change for these trade talks to gain any sort of traction. Whether it’s Jackson, Bane, or both, the deal still results in a pairing of Durant and Morant, a duo that would have instant claim to being the best duo in the league.

It’s unclear whether or not the Grizzlies’ current iteration peaked last year, but the addition of Durant would elevate Memphis to a team capable of winning a championship right away — its roster has a number of players , who would excel in complementary roles duo.

As Durant turns 34 this season, joining a team like the Grizzlies would prolong his career — and his title window — and give him an opportunity to finish Golden State’s title window.

At the end of the day, getting that kind of last laugh is what defines the spirit of competition in rivalries.

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