NBA Mock Trade: Three-team deal sending Kevin Durant to Spurs has Celtics getting upgrade on Jrue Holiday

Last week, ESPN insider Shams Charania predicted that we could be in for the craziest offseason in NBA history.

Multiple big names are expected to be either on the move or available, and several teams will look to swing for the fences and add some star power to their rosters.

With that in mind, Reddit user Greedy-Standard4944 put together a three-team trade involving the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs that could shake the league up:

In this scenario, the Suns would get Jrue Holiday, Harrison Barnes, the Spurs' No. 14 pick (Via Atlanta) in 2025 and second-rounders in 2026 (via Utah) and 2028 (via Minnesota) from San Antonio.

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The Celtics would acquire Devin Vassel and his four-year contract, and Kevin Durant would arrive in San Antonio.

The Suns almost traded Durant at the deadline, as they could use the draft capital and a defensive-minded point guard to take playmaking duties off Devin Booker's shoulders.

The Celtics are in a tough situation salary cap-wise, and Vassell fits their style of play and still has upside.

Last but not least, the Spurs would be pairing Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle with one of the greatest scorers this game has ever seen.

Bill Simmons says the Spurs will land Kevin Durant

While this is all hypothetical, the Spurs have been tied to Durant for weeks now, with some reports even stating that Durant "thinks" he's going to end up in San Antonio.

NBA analyst Bill Simmons even said that this might be a done deal already, and he thinks they're going to announce it at some point during NBA Draft week:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the KD-to-Spurs deal is already in place and just hasn’t been announced yet,” Simmons said on his podcast. “They’re probably aligned on the specifics and will make it public during draft week. This ties into the Giannis [Antetokounmpo] situation. I think they’re going for KD because he simply costs less.”

Moreover, Simmons believes that the Spurs will be able to land Durant while still keeping their coveted No. 2 selection, which wouldn't be the case if they pursued Giannis instead:

“The Spurs could be competitive and make a playoff push, while still holding on to the No. 2 pick in the draft—that’s my prediction,” added Simmons.

If the Spurs manage to land Durant while also keeping Stephon Castle alongside Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe in the draft, Gregg Popovich might be in line to win Executive of the Year right off the bat.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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