3 reasons not to panic if Raptors don’t acquire Kevin Durant

2. Issues with Durant

While it may seem like a no-brainer to acquire Durant considering his scoring skill and pedigree within the league, there are reasons that Toronto is unwilling to throw Barnes into the mix. The Durant they are looking to acquire might not be as impregnable and dominant as he was earlier in his career.

Durant signed a four-year extension with Brooklyn that will help him get paid $53 million at age 37. That contract has barely started, and he’s already asked out. What’s to say that he won’t do it again? His reliability has to be called into question ever so slightly after this move.

Kevin Durant might not be perfect for the Toronto Raptors.

Durant is beyond reproach as a basketball talent, but he is still 33 years old and fresh off missing more games than he’s played during the last three seasons. The Raptors had the backups needed to make up for Kawhi Leonard missing time, but they would need to gut the roster to bring on KD.

The Raptors are a team that is willing to take risks, but there are aspects about Durant as an asset that might make him less attractive. An oft-injured, aging player that will take up most of the salary cap could give Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster some pause for thought.