Kevin Durant & 9 Other NBA Legends Who Demanded Trades
The NBA offseason has been dominated by the news of Kevin Durant demanding a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. Quite a few interesting names have entered the same situation of trying to force their way out of a team they grew tired of and put pressure on the organization to trade them. Each story is different depending on the talent’s status and what the team wants.
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Most instances will see a trade coming since keeping an unhappy superstar is a huge risk towards the team’s chemistry and success. However, there have also been the few instances of the players in question having to go back to their unhappy situation. The following top tier NBA names demanded a trade and had the following scenarios unfold.
10 Kevin Durant
The Kevin Durant trade demand is more interesting than others since it came out of nowhere. Most players wanting out will see the situation building and rumors indicating this before it even happens. Durant turned the basketball world upside down when his trade demand came in.
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The Brooklyn Nets have done everything Durant wanted in his first few years by firing and hiring coaches, adding veteran talents, trading for James Harden, and appeasing Kyrie Irving. No one knows the real reason for Durant’s anger towards the organization, but time will tell if he does get dealt.
9 James Harden (Twice)
The Brooklyn Nets found their way into another similar scenario with how they acquired and traded for James Harden. A couple of disappointing postseason exits by the Houston Rockets and changes to the roster upset Harden enough to request a trade.
Harden entered the 2019-2020 season with his trade demand and some other questionable actions like showing up to training camp out of shape. Brooklyn traded for Harden to form their super team core, but he wanted out again the following year. Harden’s frustration with the Nets chaos saw another trade demand to the Philadelphia 76ers.
8 Vince Carter
The 2000s decade saw trade demands starting to pick up when superstars gained more leverage. Vince Carter was among the most popular players in the league helping the Toronto Raptors gain popularity and becoming known as an iconic slam dunker.
Toronto had a few terrible seasons to end their previous run of playoff appearances during Carter’s first few years. VC was accused of intentionally playing badly on the court after demanding a trade that wasn’t met. The Raptors ended up training Carter to the New Jersey Nets for a relatively weak return given how toxic the situation got.
7 Paul George
One of the more surprising trade demands came from Paul George at the end of his Indiana Pacers tenure. George seemed content in Indiana after they became the biggest threat to LeBron James’ Miami Heat that couldn’t get over the hump.
James moving to the Cleveland Cavaliers and eliminating the Pacers even earlier made George realize how far way his team was from contending for a title. George demanded a trade to a contender and was moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder to unite with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.
6 Anthony Davis
The NBA world expected Anthony Davis’ trade demand towards the end of his run with the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis was drafted #1 overall by New Orleans and always put up elite stats. Unfortunately, they rarely had any playoff success due to a flawed roster and Davis’ injury history.
Rumors leaked throughout his entire final season with the Pelicans, and many took his shirt with the writing “that’s all, folks” as a glimpse into his future. Davis demanded his trade from New Orleans that offseason and landed in his dream scenario winning an NBA Championship in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.
5 Kawhi Leonard
The San Antonio Spurs developed a reputation for keeping their legendary players for most or all of their careers looking at Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Many pundits expected the same relationship with Kawhi Leonard, but it grew toxic at the end.
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Leonard sitting out time with an injury per his own decision led to some players and members of management questioning him. The following offseason saw Leonard demanding a trade for the final year after making it clear he would not re-sign. San Antonio traded Kawhi to the Toronto Raptors where he won an NBA Championship in his sole season there.
4 Kyrie Irving
The reputation of Kyrie Irving is quite negative today due to things ending ugly with every team he plays for. Irving stunned the NBA fan and media world when he demanded a trade away from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 offseason.
Cleveland was coming off three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and one title with the big three of LeBron James, Kevin Love and Irving. The unhappiness in playing second fiddle to LeBron inspired Kyrie’s shocking trade request. Boston Celtics management swept in to acquire Irving, but that ended even uglier.
3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was considered the NBA G.O.A.T before Michael Jordan and LeBron James made that conversation part of their legacies. NBA fans view Abdul-Jabbar as an all-time great Milwaukee Buck and Los Angeles Lakers, but he still had some controversy in his career.
Abdul-Jabbar revealed he wanted out of Milwaukee to “live in a larger city that was more culturally and ethnically diverse.” The move to the Lakers worked out for him with another five NBA Championships coming his way and a new dynamic duo with Magic Johnson.
2 Jimmy Butler
Few NBA players made their trade demand as Jimmy Butler did entering the final season of his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Butler had a strong first season with the team helping them make the playoffs for the first time after Kevin Garnett left many years prior.
A combination of unhappiness with not getting a max contract offer and displeasure with some of his younger teammates led to Butler wanting out. An infamous story saw Butler leading a second-string team to beat the starters in Minnesota practice while cursing out Karl-Anthony Towns. Butler ended up playing after rumors of him sitting out, but he was moved to the Philadelphia 76ers a few weeks later.
1 Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant spending his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers makes it easy to overlook his unhappiness there at various points. The Lakers traded Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 to appease Bryant who wanted his own team and implied he’d demand a trade if they didn’t split up the polarizing duo.
Even with Los Angeles following wishes, Kobe was even more unhappy in 2007 when demanding a trade. The lack of playoff success upset Bryant and rumors indicated the Chicago Bulls were close to acquiring him. Kobe ended up sticking it out with the Lakers, and they traded for Pau Gasol shortly after to help bring another two NBA Championships to the franchise.
