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Latest On Kevin Durant

August 13th, 2022 at 6:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s standoff with the Nets over his desire to be traded is likely to continue into the start of the season, ESPN’s Bobby Marks said this week in an appearance on “NBA Today” (video link).

Marks theorizes that Durant hurt his cause with an ultimatum in his recent meeting with team owner Joe Tsai, saying he won’t return unless head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks are fired. Bobby Marks notes that the demand was bad for Durant’s image and speculates that he will eventually regret the way he handled it.

“This doesn’t force the issue,” the ESPN analyst said. “For Sean Marks or Steve Nash or Joe Tsai to say, ‘You know what, now we’ve got to trade him. Now we basically have to set an artificial timeline.’ The offers are the offers. We know what the offers are going to be and what they could potentially be, and this is why this is going to linger into the regular season.”

Also on “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps said Durant’s stipulations will make things more awkward when the Nets gather for training camp next month. He adds that rival teams now have even less incentive to improve their offers because Durant has put Brooklyn in a difficult situation.

There’s more on Durant:

Appearing in the same segment, Ramona Shelburne said a source told her that a lot more was addressed at last week’s meeting than Durant’s opinion of his coach and GM. The Nets viewed the discussion as “part of the process,” Shelburne adds, as Tsai wanted to better understand what’s making Durant want to leave.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today talked to three executives from rival teams who want to see the Nets stand their ground with Durant and refuse to either trade him or part with Nash and Marks. Regarding possible trade destinations, three executives and agents that Zillgitt spoke to believe the Celtics are no longer involved in the Durant sweepstakes because president of basketball operations Brad Stevens doesn’t want to subject any more players to trade rumors. The Raptors and Heat were mentioned prominently, but only if Brooklyn agrees to lower its asking price.
A rival executive tells Steve Bulpett of Heavy that the Celtics will probably remain part of the conversation until the Durant situation is resolved because Jaylen Brown is the best player who has been mentioned as part of a potential return.

And-Ones: Offseason, Tampering Rules, FA Signings

August 12th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

In a roundtable discussion, Howard Beck, Chris Mannix, Robin Lundberg, and Rohan Nadkarni discussed the best, worst, most surprising, and most intriguing moves of the 2022 NBA offseason, agreeing on some issues and sharing opposing views on others.

For instance, while Beck and Mannix both view the Rudy Gobert blockbuster as the best roster move of the summer, Beck makes the case that the Jazz‘s side of the deal was the offseason’s top move, while Mannix argues for the Timberwolves‘ side.

Beck, Lundberg, and Nadkarni, meanwhile, all named the Hawks‘ acquisition of Dejounte Murray as the summer’s most intriguing roster move, while Beck and Lundberg agree that Kevin Durant‘s trade request with four years left on his contract was the offseason’s worst move. From a basketball perspective, Durant would be best off staying in Brooklyn and playing for a Nets team that looks capable of contending for a title, Beck writes.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA’s tampering rules aren’t exactly working as intended, but it’s unclear if there’s any obvious way to fix them, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “The threat of harsher penalties and random audits doesn’t even make teams flinch,” one source told Todd. “And at this point, if we investigated every possible instance of tampering, the whole league would come to a screeching halt and nothing would ever get done.” According to Todd, multiple front office executives that she spoke to expressed support for moving free agency ahead of the draft, among other changes to the current system.
David Aldridge of The Athletic wrapped up his series on which teams improved the most and least this offseason by listing his picks from 20 to 11 and from 10 to one. The Sixers were Aldridge’s choice for the team that made the best roster upgrades, followed by the Hawks, Nuggets, Celtics, and Timberwolves.
Dan Devine of The Ringer shines a light on seven under-the-radar free agent agreements that he’s intrigued by, including the Heat‘s three-year deal with Caleb Martin, the Timberwolves‘ acquisition of Kyle Anderson, and the Pistons‘ investment in Marvin Bagley III.

Nets Notes: Durant, Marks, Nash, Simmons, Curry

August 11th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant‘s four-year contract extension with the Nets, which he signed last year, went into effect the day after he made his trade request and includes advance payment language that required the team to cut him a hefty pay check on July 1, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

As we noted earlier today in our list of this season’s highest-paid players, Durant is owed a $42,969,845 base salary in 2022/23. According to Stein, the star forward’s contract calls for him to receive 50% of that figure ($21,484,922) in a pair of installments on July 1 and October 1. That means that Durant received $10,742,461 from the Nets on the day after he asked the team to trade him.

As Stein observes, the fact that Durant is owed another $10.7MM+ on October 1 adds another layer of drama to the question of whether or not he’ll show up for training camp during the last week of September if he hasn’t been traded by then. If he doesn’t report, it’s possible the Nets would decide to withhold that payment.

Here’s more out of Brooklyn:

Elsewhere in his Substack story, Stein says there’s a growing belief among rival teams that Durant knew Nets owner Joe Tsai wouldn’t actually fire GM Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash when KD made his ultimatum. One prevailing theory, according to Stein, is that Durant is trying to sow discord in an effort to make the Nets lower their asking price and trade him “out of exasperation.” If that’s the endgame, it doesn’t appear to being according to plan so far.
ESPN and ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said during a Sirius XM Radio appearance that he believes the relationship between Durant and the Nets (including Marks and Nash) can still be salvaged.
“I think it would be an awkward couple of days and then you win three in a row because I think if (Ben) Simmons comes back, (Joe) Harris comes back, (Kyrie) Irving is in a right space and is able to play and Durant comes back, they’ve got a really good team,” Van Gundy said, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. “And so winning helps camouflage any bad feelings and so I don’t think it will be as bad for as long as people might suspect on the outside.”
Simmons and Seth Curry are both eligible for contract extensions with the Nets, but Alex Schiffer of The Athletic doesn’t expect Brooklyn to lock up either player until the team has more clarity on its future. Even if the Nets get resolution on Durant and Irving, it seems unlikely they’d pursue an extension with Simmons, who has yet to play a game for the club and still has two years left on his current contract, but Curry – a free agent in 2023 – would be a logical candidate for a new deal.

Kevin Durant Notes: Sixers, Raptors, Celtics

August 11th, 2022 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

Responding to a report that suggested there may be some mutual interest between Kevin Durant and the Sixers, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com evaluates whether or not Philadelphia could put together a competitive trade package for the Nets star. While Neubeck suggests an offer centered around Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle wouldn’t be “laughable,” he believes other suitors could comfortably top it, given the 76ers’ limited draft assets.
Damien Cox of The Toronto Star considers whether or not the Raptors should be seriously pursuing Durant, given the way the Nets forward’s recent demands have defied the “traditional owner-management-coach-player hierarchy” and the effect that could have on the culture the team has built in Toronto.
The Celtics, who have spoken to the Nets about Durant, have made center Robert Williams unavailable in trade talks, sources tell Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.

Kevin Durant Rumors: Ultimatum, Harrington, Nash, Sixers, Celtics

August 10th, 2022 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The ultimatum that Kevin Durant presented to Nets owner Joe Tsai – trade me or fire Sean Marks and Steve Nash – hasn’t had its intended effect so far, Brian Windhorst said during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday (video link).

Windhorst suggests that by presenting Tsai with such a “preposterous” alternative to trading him, Durant was hoping to “speed up the process,” since trade talks between the Nets and potential suitors had stagnated in recent weeks. However, the Nets appear to be digging in their heels, while Durant is running out of options.

“He has asked for a trade and it hasn’t been granted. He has asked for the coach and general manager to be fired and that hasn’t been granted,” Windhorst said. “And so now, how do you go forward and report to training camp when you’ve been told no? That’s now the coming drama with this situation.”

Given that multiple reports have indicated no team is willing to meet the Nets’ sky-high asking price for Durant, the 33-year-old’s goal may have been trying to force the team to lower that asking price to a point where a potential trade partner would meet it. But Windhorst points to Tsai’s statement supporting Marks and Nash as a sign the team isn’t willing to reduce its trade demands, at least for now.

“Obviously, the first sentence – where he’s saying he’s not firing his coach and GM – is important,” Windhorst said. “The second sentence was a message to Durant and the whole league, which is, ‘We’re going to do what’s best for the Brooklyn Nets.’

“That is code for, “We’re not going to make a trade just to satisfy this player, no matter how good he is and no matter how much pressure he’s going to put on us. We have all the cards, we have a four-year contract.’ And so I suspect that that will be their position come the start of training camp, and that could lead to Durant not showing up.”

Here’s more on Durant:

A source tells Brian Lewis and Josh Kosman of The New York Post that the Nets’ decision to fire director of player development Adam Harrington this spring without consulting Durant is one source of tension between the player and the team. “There are simple things that erode a relationship,” the source told The Post. “You fired someone he was close to and didn’t have a conversation about it.” The same source suggested that Durant wants Marks to be fired because the star forward feels as if the GM “traded away too many pieces.”
Both The New York Post and Ian Begley of SNY.tv pushed back against the idea that Durant was the one who urged the Nets to hire Nash as its head coach in 2020. Sources told Lewis and Kosman that Marks was the driving force behind that hiring, and Begley has heard the same thing.
According to Begley, there are some “high-ranking” members of the Sixers who have been interested in engaging the Nets in discussions about a Durant trade. A Philadelphia offer would likely have to include Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thybulle, and draft assets. However, the 76ers’ ability to trade additional first-round picks is limited (they already owe two to Brooklyn), and Harris’ pricey multiyear contract limits his trade value, so it’s unlikely such a package would appeal to the Nets.
Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe hears from a source that the Nets “initially tried to pry” both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum from the Celtics for Durant, which Boston obviously had no interest in. The C’s also rebuffed Brooklyn’s attempt to acquire Brown, Marcus Smart, and several first-round picks in exchange for Durant, Himmelsbach adds.
According to Begley, Durant would have interest in playing in Boston, but he’d like to play with Smart if he’s traded to the Celtics. Begley also cites people familiar with the situation who say Durant would view Philadelphia as a “desirable landing spot.”
Celtics president Brad Stevens and head coach Ime Udoka have kept Brown in the loop about the Durant trade conversations, and Brown seems to understand the situation, a league source tells Himmelsbach.

Irving’s Agent: Kyrie Doesn’t “Hate” Marks, Nash

August 9th, 2022 at 8:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Responding to a New York Post report in which a source claimed that Kyrie Irving “hates” Nets general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash, Irving’s agent and stepmother Shetallia Riley Irving told Brian Lewis and Josh Kosman of The New York Post that’s not the case.

“I am not sure where this narrative is coming from but Kyrie does not hate Steve nor Sean,” Shetallia Riley Irving said. “That’s not a part of his being nor how he represents himself in the world. He’s about peace, love and acceptance.”

While Kyrie and agent may dispute the notion that he “hates” Marks or Nash, that doesn’t necessarily mean he loves the job they’ve been doing in Brooklyn.

Irving and the Nets have been at odds in multiple instances over the past year. The club’s front office and ownership group opted not to allow Irving to be a part-time player at the start of last season when he was ineligible to play in Brooklyn due to New York City’s vaccine mandate. The Nets were then unwilling to offer him a lucrative long-term contract this summer, prompting him to explore a move to another team before he eventually decided to pick up his 2022/23 player option.

According to Lewis and Kosman, Shetallia Riley Irving declined to comment on whether Irving agrees with Kevin Durant, who reportedly told Nets owner Joe Tsai that he must decide between trading Durant or firing Marks and Nash.

Kevin Durant Notes: Pelicans, Nets, Standoff, League Reaction

August 9th, 2022 at 7:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After reasserting his desire to be dealt away from the Nets in a meeting with principle owner Joe Tsai last weekend, All-Star forward Kevin Durant would consider holding out of Brooklyn’s training camp in September if he’s still on the roster, a source tells Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.

Winfield reports that, among the Nets’ potential trade partners, the Pelicans remain interested in Durant. Winfield suggests that New Orleans could put together a “compelling” package that includes 2020 All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, still just 24, along with intriguing young role players like Herbert Jones and Jose Alvarado, plus significant draft equity.

Here’s the latest Durant chatter:

After looking like surefire title contenders thanks to their 2021-era core of Durant, All-Star guard James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, the Nets have fallen back to earth. The New York Post’s Ian O’Connor writes that the franchise has devolved back into the kind of laughingstock it often was when still based in New Jersey. The team appears to be in total disarray following Durant’s reiterated trade request.
John Hollinger of The Athletic opines that the Nets still have a negotiating edge over Durant. Hollinger credits that to the fact that the 33-year-old’s four-year, maximum-salary extension is just beginning, and his advanced NBA age diminishes his trade value to some extent. Hollinger writes that, should Durant opt to not play for the start of the season, the Nets could try to miss the playoffs. The team owes a pick swap to the Rockets in 2023, but the Rockets still project to miss the postseason themselves, meaning Brooklyn could get a quality selection regardless.
Executives and coaches around the league are incensed at Durant’s request that Tsai either trade him or fire team president Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash, per Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett. “Livid,” one team president told Bulpett in describing their emotional reaction to the news. “He and Kyrie basically told Sean they were coming [in 2019 free agency], and Sean did pretty much everything they wanted after that. Signing DeAndre Jordan for four years? That’s something Kyrie and KD wanted. Getting James Harden? Then getting a guy who should be a perfect complement to them [Ben Simmons] when Harden wanted out? Sean did all that… And now KD doesn’t like how it’s all worked out? There’s probably some other people he should talk to about that, maybe even a teammate.”

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Simmons, Brunson, Harris

August 9th, 2022 at 12:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s desire to see the Nets get rid of general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash is shared by teammate Kyrie Irving, a source tells Mark W. Sanchez and Josh Koshman of The New York Post. Irving picked up his $36.9MM option and reportedly doesn’t mind playing in Brooklyn next season, but the source says he shares Durant’s views on the organization’s leadership.

“Kyrie Irving hates these guys. He feels that Nash is terrible and Marks is bad,” the source said, adding that “KD came to the same conclusion.”

Irving has more obvious reasons to hold a negative view of management than Durant does. The Nets were unwilling to offer him a long-term contract if he had opted out and they refused to allow him to be a part-time player last season when he was ineligible for home games because of his vaccine stance. That decision lasted until a short-handed roster forced them to change their minds in December.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Shams Charania of The Athletic disputes a rumor that Ben Simmons pulled out of a Nets group chat when teammates asked if he was going to play in Game 4 of the playoff series against the Celtics. Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show (video link), Charania said the incident “never happened” and added that Simmons is “looking good” this summer and the team has “high, high expectations” for him in the upcoming season.
A few New York fans got to see Jalen Brunson play his first game alongside some of his new Knicks teammates Monday, per Matthew Neschis of The New York Post. Brunson received a standing ovation during introductions as he teamed up with Julius Randle and Obi Toppin in the Nike Pro City playoffs, a summer league in the Bronx. “You have a lot of kids [here] who can’t afford the opportunity to go to a Knicks game,” league director Bernard Bowen said, “so for those guys to come and play in that atmosphere where it’s free for the kids, it’s a blessing.”
Kyle Neubeck of Philly.com looks at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for Sixers forward Tobias Harris, who moved into a different role last season following the James Harden trade.

Latest On Kevin Durant

August 9th, 2022 at 10:17am CST by Arthur Hill

The trade ultimatum that Kevin Durant delivered to Nets owner Joe Tsai over the weekend only makes it more difficult for Durant to get what he wants, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Durant reportedly told Tsai that he would only consider returning to the team if head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks are both fired, and Tsai responded Monday with a Twitter statement supporting the coaching staff and front office.

Now that Durant’s ultimatum has become public, the Nets have even less leverage in trying to work out a deal in a market where they’ve already been unable to find an offer anywhere near their asking price. Durant may have hoped the meeting with Tsai would liven up the trade market, but Botte believes it might have done the opposite.

Durant’s unhappiness with Nash and Marks is ironic considering the efforts that the organization has made to accommodate him since he signed in 2019, adds Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Before coming to Brooklyn, Nash worked closely with Durant as a consultant with the Warriors, and Durant reportedly used his influence to get Nash hired when the team parted ways with Kenny Atkinson in 2020.

Schiffer points out that much of Brooklyn’s coaching staff consisted of assistants who had also had ties to Durant, including Royal Ivey, Brian Keefe, David Vanterpool and Adam Harrington. And while Durant may be unhappy with Marks for not being willing to offer a new contract to Kyrie Irving, Schiffer notes that many of the team’s significant roster moves were heavily endorsed by Durant, including the additions of James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Mike James.

There’s more on the Durant situation:

Durant’s unhappiness with the Nets can be traced back to Marks’ statement in May that the front office needs to regain control of the franchise, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps said today in an appearance on “Get Up” (video link). He adds that if Tsai had even considered getting rid of Nash and Marks, he would be letting the players run the team again.
In another “Get Up” segment, Bontemps states that nothing about the trade market has changed in the wake of Durant’s ultimatum (Twitter link). Teams still aren’t willing to give the Nets the type of trade package that they’re seeking, so Bontemps expects Durant to remain with Brooklyn into the start of training camp and possibly into the beginning of the regular season.
The chaos surrounding the Nets shows the danger of chasing stars instead of going through the natural rebuilding process, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who adds that there’s little sympathy for Brooklyn around the league.

Nets Owner Tsai Publicly Supports Marks, Nash

August 8th, 2022 at 7:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets owner Joe Tsai went on social media Monday night to declare his support for the team’s front office and coaching staff, apparently closing the door on the possibility of Kevin Durant wearing a Brooklyn uniform again.

On his Twitter account, Tsai stated “Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.”

Tsai met with the disgruntled superstar forward in London on Saturday. Earlier on Monday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Durant reiterated his trade request at that meeting, declaring he would only withdraw it if Tsai fired general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash. Durant, who is entering the first year of a four-year max extension, told Tsai that he doesn’t have faith in the team’s direction.

It would have been stunning for an owner to bend to his superstar’s wishes and fire the GM and coach, then essentially let the player pick the replacements. So Tsai’s decision to publicly back Marks and Nash isn’t surprising.

The franchise’s approach to Durant’s trade request remains to be seen. There’s speculation that Durant made the ultimatum to put pressure on the front office to lower its trade demands. It’s also uncertain whether Durant will show up if he’s still on the roster during training camp.