FILE - Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in Indianapolis. Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, according to a person with direct knowledge of the seismic decision that undoubtedly will have teams scrambling to put together enormous offers for the perennial All-Star. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)AP

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It has been a frenzied Friday across the NBA, with more than $1 billion signed in guaranteed contracts and multiple blockbuster trades taking shape.

Meanwhile, the biggest storyline of the offseason is still shrouded in secrecy. On Thursday, Kevin Durant asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, listing the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat as his preferred destinations. The 12-time All-Star and four-time scoring champion would make any team an instant Finals contender. However, the Nets still have Durant under team control through the 2025-26 season and are not obligated to accept anything other than the absolute best offer on the table.

Where will Durant’s trade request take him? Oddsmakers at PointsBet opened betting lines for KD’s ultimate destination at:

These lines have already seen considerable movement. Our experts will take a look below at the latest lines and share their best bets, but we first need to tell you how you can bet on Kevin Durant’s final trade destination RISK-FREE at PointsBet.

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The NBA trade machine has roared to life with the news of Durant’s trade request, and the Nets will be patient and aim for the greatest return possible. The sheer size of Durant’s guaranteed contract, in addition to his elite talent, means there’s a limited number of teams that actually have the assets and cap space to swing a deal.

There will be plenty of rumors and buzz predicting where Durant is heading, but at the end of the day, many of these rumors will be exactly that. To help you cut through the noise and make the best bet possible, our NBA experts provided a few predictions below for where KD could land next.

The Nets have insisted they’ll need a superstar-caliber player included in their trade return. Joel Embiid isn’t going anywhere, and James Harden most certainly isn’t about to boomerang back to Brooklyn. That leaves Tobias Harris as the most likely centerpiece of a potential Durant trade.

Harris would seamlessly slot into the void at the forward position left by a Durant. While his scoring abilities aren’t as strong, he would more than adequately fill in as the No. 2 option behind Kyrie Irving - who opted into his $36.5 million player option on Monday. Harris would also reunite with Ben Simmons, his teammate during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season that saw the 76ers finish with the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference (49-23).

Add 23-year-old center Paul Reed - the G-League’s 2021 Most Valuable Player - as well as all three of the 1st-round picks Philadelphia controls through the 2024 NBA Draft, and you have the fit and value needed to land a superstar of Durant’s caliber. Led by the three-headed monster of Harden, Durant and Embiid, the 76ers would likely become the favorites to win the 2023 Finals.

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If the Pelicans traded for Durant, their package would look very similar to what the 76ers might offer. Brandon Ingram would likely be at the heart of any deal for Durant. At just 24 years old, Ingram’s athleticism, size and scoring prowess would give the Nets an incredibly comparable replacement for Durant.

Jonas Valančiūnas - who averaged an NBA-best 14.3 rebounds per game in 2021 - would likely be included too and would immediately slot into the Nets’ starting lineup and provide an upgrade at center. Fellow 7-footer Jaxon Hayes has shown that he can be effective playing alongside Valančiūnas. Defensive specialist Herbert Jones - whose 1.8 steals per game was third-highest in the NBA last season - would be a valuable and logical get for the Nets.

New Orleans also owns three 1st-round picks between the 2023 and 2024 NBA Drafts. These picks would sweeten the pot and give the Nets an offer for Durant that they simply could not refuse. Who wouldn’t like to see a full season of Durant and Zion Williamson playing together? It makes sense, and it’d make the Pelicans dangerous in the playoffs.

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There isn’t currently a betting market for Durant to end up on Beale Street at PointsBet, but the 2021 Southwest Division champs are listed at (+2500) at DraftKings Sportsbook.

If the Grizzlies were to offer a package of Jaren Jackson Jr., Dillon Brooks and three 1st-round picks across the 2023 and 2024 NBA Drafts, it’d create a compelling return for the Nets and would arguably put both teams in a better spot.

Last season, Brooklyn allowed 112.1 points per game ranked (18th in the NBA), and Jackson Jr. and Brooks are elite defenders. Neither is an offensive liability by any stretch (Jackson Jr. 15.4 ppg and Brooks 14.6 ppg in 2021), and they wouldn’t be asked to assume a larger offensive role with the Nets. Their presence would allow the backcourt of Irving, Seth Curry and Patty Mills to focus on what they do best, which is scoring the basketball.

On the other end of the court, a defense-first lineup of Simmons, Brooks, newly acquired Royce O’Neale from Utah, and Jackson Jr. could slow down even the highest-octane offenses in the Eastern Conference. It’d give Steve Nash an incredible amount of rotation flexibility.

Click here to join DraftKings Sportsbook and bet on Durant being traded to the Grizzlies at 25-1 odds. Note that the DraftKings offer of a deposit bonus (up to $1,000 in value) differs from PointsBet’s new user offer of a risk-free first bet (up to $500 in value), which has been detailed earlier.

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