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Simply whenever you thought the 2022 free company interval was going to be an Ambien tablet, the Brooklyn Nets cleaning soap opera returned to inject an adrenaline needle to the vein.
Simply three days after Kyrie Irving defused his personal ticking time bomb by opting to stay a Web, Kevin Durant selected to clean his personal exit path. The newest Nets cleaning soap opera episode started Thursday with a secular throwaway storyline by which the Nets acquired Utah Jazz defensive stopper Royce O’Neal. Nevertheless, in accordance with The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets are within the technique of acquiescing a commerce demand Durant made to proprietor Joseph Tsai.
The information shook the earth simply days after Kyrie Irving determined to opt-in and decide to the Nets for yet another season. Looking back, the vow to meet his four-year dedication to the Nets might have been a passive-aggressive elbow in Durant’s course.
When Durant selected to hyperlink up with Irving in Brooklyn, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck revealed a column that defined Durant’s choice.
Through B/R:
“Durant had grown weary of the perpetual drama in Golden State, even whereas main the Warriors to 2 straight championships. What some discovered refreshing in regards to the Warriors — their massive personalities, their outspokenness on each on- and off-court points — Durant discovered distracting. He wished a crew that positioned basketball above all else.”
The optimistic outlook again then was that Irving and Durant’s real friendship would mood their damaging tendencies. Any realist understood this was all the time the way it was going to finish for these two. As soon as they have been on the courtroom collectively, sparks flew. In 2021, they performed probably the most environment friendly offenses in NBA historical past.
However off the courtroom, they repeatedly got here dangerously near detonating. Irving’s give attention to basketball was all the time tenuous. One second, his focus was solely on basketball and the subsequent, he was burned out, taking two-week sabbaticals, taking a inflexible stance towards the COVID vaccine even when it meant leaving his teammates on the hook. The shocker is that Durant was the one who pulled the pin on the Nets grenade.
When Durant is traded, it is going to be his fourth crew in six years. So the place will Durant’s travels take him subsequent? The panorama being so fertile for Durant makes that troublesome to pin down, though Yahoo Sports activities’ Chris Haynes has reported that Durant’s most well-liked vacation spot could be the Phoenix Suns.
Durant’s curiosity makes restricted free agent Deandre Ayton a chief sign-and-trade candidate. Phoenix wanted a lifeline this offseason. Their reluctance to signal Ayton to a five-year $177 million extension or match the four-year $131 million contract that different groups can signal him to place them in a tough place. Given their tight championship window, Phoenix would do no matter it takes to fit Durant between Devin Booker, perimeter defensive pincer Mikal Bridges and Chris Paul as quickly as doable. The Nets might demand Bridges as a sacrifice, nevertheless it’s one the Suns would make in a scorching second.
The Portland Path Blazers have been lobbying laborious for Durant. Don’t be shocked if Mayor Ted Wheeler hosts a dwell press convention to woo KD to their title-starved hoops-obsessed metropolis. Portland has the most effective components of picks and younger expertise to sacrifice to the Altar of Durant whereas sustaining a roster deep sufficient to contend. They might throw a number of firsts, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe in Brooklyn’s course and each groups may very well be content material. The Blazers would possibly battle to maintain Simons, but when it turns into a dealbreaker, his baggage will probably be packed for him.
The Lakers is smart on paper. Durant becoming a member of LeBron could be the last word mashup. For years, they duked it out because the top-2 gamers within the league. They’ve each stumbled from their peaks, however their apex is so excessive, that they’re nonetheless persistently top-five gamers once they’re at their worst. From the Brooklyn Nets’ angle, Anthony Davis, 29, might have sufficient juice left in his tank to be an All-NBA massive for one more 5 years. His porcelain bones will all the time be a priority however when he’s wholesome, he’s an elite, two-way velociraptor.
Miami received the chilly shoulder from Jalen Brunson at present after he signed a four-year $110M deal with the Knicks, however re-inserted themselves into the Durant discussions.
Nevertheless, the Warmth don’t personal a first-spherical choose till 2024 and may’t hand over consecutive firsts due to The Stepien Rule, which prevents groups from being with out first-round picks in consecutive drafts. For Brooklyn to give up a participant of Durant’s caliber they’d seemingly ask for Bam Adebayo. The Nets could be precluded from swapping Durant for Adebayo due to an obscure rule that forestalls groups from having two gamers who have been acquired through trades whereas they’re on Designated Rookie Extension contracts. After buying and selling for Ben Simmons on the commerce deadline, the one approach Adebayo might wind up on the Nets is that if Simmons have been traded. That’s not exterior the realm of prospects, however unlikely as a result of his commerce inventory is within the basement.
But, the place there’s a will there’s a approach. NBA execs have written the e-book on twisting by way of company loopholes, however simply because they’ll doesn’t imply they need to.
Two point-centers as the point of interest of the Nets lineup for the subsequent few years is as problematic as Embiid and Simmons plodding by way of the push hour visitors within the paint. Nevertheless, a three-team commerce by which Durant is whisked off to Miami, Bam shipped to a different crew, who traded their famous person to Brooklyn could be amenable to Miami and Brooklyn. Discovering that third crew is less complicated stated than done.
The Nets could have a pile of choices to overview. In the end, wherever Durant finally ends up will upend the league.
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