the agent of Kevin Durant confirmed that his client had asked to be transferred, and on the Brooklyn side, we are also preparing for the transfer of Kyrie Irving. According ESPN, the Nets want to turn the page on one of the most resounding failures in history. They had burned everything to afford Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019, then they had exchanged their first draft rounds to recover James Harden in 2021, and today Brooklyn is knocked out!
The Nets find themselves in the same position as in 2015 after the fiasco of the “Big Three” composed around Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson. You have to start from scratch.
The good news is that they will be able to recover many good players and early draft rounds with the departures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. According The Athletic, the first is leaving for Phoenix or Miami, but it will be complicated to mount because of the limits of the “salary cap”. It will probably be necessary to start the big maneuvers with the departure of Irving. It is simpler and its rating is lower.
Irving at the Lakers, Durant at the Suns?
For the moment, only one destination envisaged: the Lakers to find LeBron James. As the Nets are embarking on a new project, and Durant is about to leave, the leaders could finally agree to receive Russell Westbrook in exchange. If the Lakers add a Draft pick, it will even be perfect. The Athletic gives a proposal: Irving + another player (Seth Curry, Royce O’Neale or Day’Ron Sharpe), against Westbrook and the first rounds of the Lakers 2027 and 2029 Draft.
If the Nets do not want Westbrook, it will be necessary to set up a triangle trade, and it will obviously be more complicated…
Some imagined the Durant-Irving duo leaving together for the Lakers, but that will not happen. Between them, they receive $ 79 million, and the Lakers would have to let go of Anthony Davis, while the Nets would also be forced to part with Ben Simmons to integrate the salaries of the two Lakers. Clearly, it is very complicated, if not impossible, and The Athletic warns that management prefers to keep Anthony Davis anyway.
As it stands, Durant’s future is more on the side of Phoenix to set up a new “Big Three” with Chris Paul and Devin Booker. But it is rumored that the Nets would not be very hot to recover Deandre Ayton, and they have just extended Nic Claxton. But the potential offer may make them think: Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and three first rounds of Draft. If we add Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and possibly Russell Westbrook, it plays in the playoffs next season. And it can even do better than a “sweep” in the first round…
Pat Riley’s ultimate big shot?
On the side of the Heat, it remains calm, and two players would be untransferable: Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. The Heat’s problem is they don’t have a first-round Draft to offer, and the Nets would make it a condition sine qua non. In the past, Pat Riley has always gotten what he wanted, and he can be counted on to be inventive if he really wants Kevin Durant.
As for the other tracks mentioned, such as Boston, Portland or even Atlanta, they remain secondary for the simple reason that it would not be one of the destinations desired by Durant. But remember that it’s Brooklyn who decides, and the leaders could not take into account the opinion of Durant.
