Kevin Durant has seen and been involved in some of the NBA’s biggest trades during his 18-year career. Last summer, the former MVP was part of a historic seven-team deal that saw him move from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets.
Earlier this month, the 16-time All-Star witnessed another league-altering trade when the Boston Celtics shipped Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft capital.
On Tuesday, Durant candidly shared his thoughts in the aftermath of the Brown deal.
Kevin Durant Explains Why the 76ers’ Jaylen Brown Trade Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone
Brown is coming off a career year in which he led Boston to a 56-26 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference despite his co-star Jayson Tatum playing only 16 games. The 6-foot-6 wing earned an All-NBA nod and finished sixth in MVP voting.
After an impressive season, the Celtics reportedly dangled Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. When the Bucks sent the two-time MVP to the Miami Heat instead, Brown was shipped to Philadelphia for what many considered to be an underwhelming return.
Durant, who attended the MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, shared his perspective on the Brown trade.
”You can’t be stunned. It’s the NBA, man. Luka Dončić got traded in the middle of the night,” Durant said.
“Philly fans have the most passion”
“Dangerous”
Kevin Durant on Philly and Sixers trading for Jaylen Brown
Kevin Durant is here at the All-Star game and does he does know where LeBron James is going? pic.twitter.com/6hec31a9HJ
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 14, 2026
In February 2025, the NBA saw a more shocking and controversial deal than Brown landing with the 76ers. The Dallas Mavericks sent Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick.
According to reports, then-Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison kept trade negotiations under wraps until the deal was announced late on a Saturday night.
The NBA world reeled in disbelief over Harrison’s decision not to start a bidding war for the perennial MVP contender, who carried Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals. League insiders believed the Mavericks could have gotten a much bigger return than the one the Lakers offered if Harrison had publicly fielded trade calls for the Slovenian.
The Dončić-Davis controversy lasted for months, an issue that eventually led team governor Patrick Dumont to admit the trade was a mistake. Dumont fired Harrison in November 2025 and traded Davis to the Washington Wizards three months later.
For Durant, no trade comes close to the Dončić-Davis swap, so much so that he seemingly took the Brown-George exchange in stride.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP predicted that the notoriously hard Philadelphia fans will love Brown, who played a big part in some of the 76ers’ biggest playoff heartbreaks.
Durant added that Philadelphia will be very “dangerous” now that it has the 2024 NBA Finals MVP on its roster.
