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The Nets have agreed to commerce Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns for a bundle of gamers and first-round picks, in response to an individual acquainted with the deal who was not licensed to debate it publicly. The deal comes simply days after the Nets traded their star guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks.
In alternate for Durant, the Nets will obtain the forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder, together with 4 first-round draft picks and the best to swap one other first-round decide. The Suns can even obtain Nets ahead T.J. Warren.
The settlement was first reported by The Athletic.
Irving heard the information of Durant’s commerce deal as he completed getting dressed to deal with reporters after his first recreation with the Mavericks, towards the Clippers in Los Angeles.
“We had quite a lot of conversations all year long of what our futures had been going to appear to be,” Irving mentioned of Durant. “There was nonetheless a stage of uncertainty, however we simply cared about seeing one another be locations the place we will thrive. And whether or not that be collectively or that be aside, there’s by no means been one second the place I felt like he’s been indignant at me for choices I made or I’ve been indignant at him.”
The Nets added Durant and Irving in the summertime of 2019, anticipating the 2 of them to guide the franchise to a championship — or possibly a number of championships with slightly luck. The staff acquired guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets in January 2021 to create a superteam so proficient some puzzled if it was the best staff in N.B.A. historical past.
As an alternative, all three gamers requested trades from the group at totally different instances. Harden’s request got here first, and he was traded to Philadelphia final 12 months. Durant requested to be traded over the summer time, and Irving requested throughout the previous few weeks.
The Nets by no means superior previous the Jap Convention semifinals throughout Irving and Durant’s time on the staff. The Boston Celtics swept them out of the primary spherical of the playoffs final season.
The deal to commerce Durant got here a day after the N.B.A. board of governors accepted the sale of the Suns to Mat Ishbia, a billionaire mortgage lender who bought a majority stake within the staff from Robert Sarver. Sarver offered the staff after an N.B.A. investigation discovered that he had engaged in office misconduct, together with utilizing racial slurs for Black folks and demeaning girls throughout his tenure as staff proprietor.
In Phoenix, Durant will be part of a proficient younger scorer in Devin Booker and an skilled level guard in Chris Paul.
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