The first day of the transfer window in the North American basketball professional league NBA made headlines with record contracts and a superstar willing to change. Kevin Durant, one of the best basketball players in history, apparently wants to leave the Brooklyn Nets. He deposited this wish with the team, reported US media. Bradley Beal and Nikola Jokic, meanwhile, have received more than $250 million in contracts from the Washington Wizards and the Denver Nuggets, respectively.
However, Durant was the dominant theme. The three-time Olympic champion is said to personally favor a future with the Phoenix Suns or the Miami Heat, but it’s still unclear which team will be in the running for his services. The two-time NBA champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist has a $194 million contract with the Nets through 2026, giving him nearly $43 million next season.
An obligation is therefore not cheap for interested parties: in addition to the salary, a package of players and rights for future drafts must be put together for an exchange so that the Nets give the green light.
In any case, the Nets’ title hopes have been dashed for the foreseeable future. Just twelve months ago, many experts were expecting the beginning of an era for the team around the three superstars Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving – these forecasts turned out to be a blatant misjudgment over the course of the season. Irving missed many games because of his refusal to get vaccinated against the corona virus, Harden finally traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and Durant suffered multiple injuries. The latter now apparently prefers to try elsewhere to win a third NBA title.
In the shadow of this cause, Nikola Jokic agreed with Denver on what was initially the most lucrative deal in NBA history. The Serbian center, league MVP for the past two years, is expected to earn at least $264 million over the next five years. The Wizards, meanwhile, give point guard Bradley Beal 251 million, also for five years. According to US media, Devin Booker will also get a new four-year contract worth 214 million dollars from the Phoenix Suns. The deal for Jalen Brunson, who is moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the New York Knicks, seems comparatively puny. He is said to earn $104 million in four years there.
