Kevin Durant

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Knicks, Raptors, Sixers

May 28th, 2020 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take (video link), Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie said he can’t really address the possibility of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving potentially returning from injuries this summer, since that decision will ultimately be made by others, including team doctors. However, he acknowledged that Brooklyn’s outlook for the 2020 postseason would change significantly with those two stars in the lineup.

“If they are able to return and that’s the decision they make, our aspirations turn from playoffs to championship,” Dinwiddie said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “If they’re not able to return, which they’ve pretty much said that’s kind of the stance that they’re taking, we still want to be a team that grinds to get to the playoffs and makes a run in the playoffs.”

Unlike Irving, whose season was cut short by a shoulder issue, Durant has yet to make his debut with the Nets. While a torn Achilles tendon is a potentially devastating injury for NBA players, Dinwiddie is confident that KD will still look like a star when he returns to the court.

“I look at it like this: At 80 percent, he’s Dirk Nowitzki,” Dinwiddie said of Durant, according to Bondy. “At 100 percent, he’s the best scorer of all time, and anywhere in between, he’s still, what, a top-three small forward in the league.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Knicks don’t plan to formally launch their head coaching search until they find out whether or not their season is over, sources tell Marc Berman of The New York Post. We heard on Wednesday that Tom Thibodeau and Kenny Atkinson are expected to be among the club’s candidates in that search.
Chris Boucher and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who have played key minutes in the Raptors‘ frontcourt this season, will both be free agents at season’s end. Bearing that in mind, Eric Koreen of The Athletic examines each player’s appeal, arguing that it wouldn’t be an easy decision if the team can only retain one. Hollis-Jefferson is the more versatile player, but Boucher is a better rim protector and will be a restricted free agent.
Looking at the Sixers‘ future with Rich Hofmann of The Athletic, John Hollinger suggests the team has painted itself into a bit of a corner with its big-money commitments to some secondary players and will need to get creative to upgrade its roster going forward.

Nets Notes: Dinwiddie, Marks, Durant, Harris

May 24th, 2020 at 1:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has a pointed question for the NBA if it decides to resume its season with just playoff teams, relays Ted Holmlund of The New York Post.

“If we go 16 teams directly to playoffs do those teams get paid more for the risk and carrying this year’s revenue after Corona and China?” Dinwiddie tweeted.

He offered a few more comments in response to fans who replied to the tweet. After someone accused him of viewing the return only in financial terms, he wrote, “Isn’t that what big business is about? I’m a small business that is a cog in the machine of a bigger business lol.” After another claimed that players ceded some of their leverage by admitting they want to play again, Dinwiddie stated, “Yes, the team owners have run a master class in media manipulation.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

After dropping a hint three weeks ago that Kevin Durant might be close to a return, Nets general manager Sean Marks now seems resigned that it won’t happen until next season, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Sources tell Berman that the league hiatus has made it impossible for Durant to maintain the progress he was showing during workouts in late winter. Durant wasn’t in game condition when the season stopped and needed five-on-five scrimmages to reach that point.
Talking to Sky Sport New Zealand, Marks said Durant and Kyrie Irving have a chance to add to their legacies if they can bring a championship to Brooklyn, Berman adds in the same story. “That’s what these guys are fighting for now,’’ Marks said. “If you talk to Kevin and Ky, they’ve both won —Kevin’s won two championships, Ky’s won a championship — so now, it’s how do we make this ours, how do we take this to the next level and who do we do it with?”
In an interview with Michael Grady of YES Network, Joe Harris called remaining in Brooklyn his “ideal scenario” as free agency approaches. “I look back just over four years ago coming to Brooklyn, getting an opportunity to play here, to learn as a young player to play through my mistakes and be given a niche in this league,” Harris said. “And I’ve always loved New York and I love living in Brooklyn. Obviously, it’s a business at the end of the day and there are things you can’t control a lot of things that go on. My ideal scenario … that’s what it is for me.”

Warriors Notes: Myers, Durant, Cook, Free Agents

May 16th, 2020 at 5:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

“The Last Dance” documentary series is making an impression around the NBA, particularly with the Warriors, who can identify with the challenges of trying to string together championships, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. One of those challenges is attempting to maintain camaraderie, which became an issue on the way to the 2017/18 title, admits general manager Bob Myers.

“The second time with Kevin (Durant) it felt like, ‘Well, we just did what we were supposed to do, and great job,'” Myers said. “It wasn’t joy. I’m sure a lot of people felt differently. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. I think there’s just a weight to everything. And so I’m sure (the Bulls) felt that weight of everything, weight of relationships.”

Golden State posted 67-15 and 58-24 records and won back-to-back championships during its first two seasons with Durant. But before the quest for a three-peat was derailed by injuries in last year’s Finals, there were frequent reports that Durant was looking to leave the organization and an infamous on-court incident with Draymond Green.

“To be honest, (the documentary) is just confirmation of what I was saying to our team all of last year and 2018,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The whole messaging for the year was based on my experience with Chicago and feeling that level of fatigue (and) emotional toll that had been over the previous four years. … And so watching this now is just a reminder of how difficult it is to sustain that kind of run.”

There’s more Warriors news to pass along:

Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle talked to a few Warriors players who are too young to remember the Michael Jordan era. Several took note of Jordan’s intense leadership style in the documentary, saying it was reminiscent of Green. “When (Jordan) just said he never asked anybody to do anything that he wouldn’t do, that really stuck with me,” Marquese Chriss said. “You want your leader to lead by example, but also be vocal at the same time. It honestly reminded me a bit of Draymond.”
Even though the Warriors dropped to the bottom of the West this season, the team’s culture continues to be a strong selling point with players, observes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III both expressed disappointment over being traded in February, and Quinn Cook said it was important to him to sign with the Warriors in 2017. “When Golden State called, I told my agent, ‘I didn’t care if I never play,” said Cook, now with the Lakers. “I don’t have to play. I just want to be a part of the organization. I want to learn every single day from those guys.’”
Grant Liffman of NBC Sports Bay Area identifies 11 free agents that the Warriors should target, even though they will be over the cap and can only offer minimum contracts and the taxpayer mid-level exception.

Atlantic Notes: KD, Raptors, Nets, Celtics

May 14th, 2020 at 8:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets forward Kevin Durant addressed the possibility of his suiting up if the 2019/20 season resumes in a conversation with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio on Tuesday, as NetsDaily recounted. However, KD didn’t offer many details about his potential return timeline. “It is what it is man. Everybody (is) waiting on me to come back,” Durant said. “But I’ll be back when it’s time.”

In 2019, Durant inked a four-year, $164MM maximum free agent deal with Brooklyn in a sign-and-trade with the Warriors for point guard D’Angelo Russell. Durant continues to recover from an Achilles tear suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals that has kept him off the floor for the Nets’ entire 2019/20 season thus far.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

For the Raptors, balancing the team’s young core and aging veterans may become especially tricky during the 2020 offseason, according to John Hollinger and Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Among the team’s top six players, ascendant young point guard Fred VanVleet, 35-year-old center Marc Gasol and 30-year-old big man Serge Ibaka will all be unrestricted free agents at season’s end.
Due to stricter state and city guidelines for reopening businesses in New York than many other teams’ home cities, the Nets appear unlikely to return anytime soon to their practice facility, the HSS Training Center in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, per NetsDaily’s Net Income and Anthony Puccio. 22 of the 30 NBA teams hope to have their practice facilities open by Monday.
The strength of Celtics point guard Kemba Walker‘s left knee and the ascent of newly-minted All-Star Jayson Tatum are among the big questions facing the C’s if the 2019/20 season does indeed resume, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Forsberg notes that injuries have been a big story in the Celtics’ paused season, saying that the team’s top seven players were healthy together for just eight of the team’s 64 games before play was suspended in March. With a 43-21 record, Boston sits at the No. 3 seed in the East.

LeBron, Giannis, Curry, Other Stars United In Desire To Resume Season

May 12th, 2020 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

NBPA president Chris Paul arranged a private conference call with a number of the league’s superstars on Monday to discuss the coronavirus ramifications and the potential resumption of the 2019/20 season, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

By the end of the conversation, per Haynes, those players were united in their desire to resume the season once the NBA ensures the necessary safety measures are in place and gets the green light. According to Haynes, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, and Russell Westbrook were among the players on the call.

As Haynes explains, the group’s decision is expected to carry significant weight at a time when not all of the NBA’s players are necessarily on board with the idea of completing the 2019/20 season this summer.

Sources tell Yahoo Sports that many players on teams who are all but eliminated from playoff contention would prefer to just have the top eight clubs in each conference finish the season. The fact that stars outside the playoff picture, such as Curry and Lillard, are in favor of resuming play is significant.

According to Haynes, there was also some concern among players after Friday’s call that the NBA wouldn’t be able to guarantee player safety, with a coronavirus vaccine not expected to be available until 2021 at the earliest. Commissioner Adam Silver assured players that the league will do all it can to create the safest possible conditions, and it sounds like the stars on Monday’s call are satisfied with that promise.

Haynes notes that there are some players out of the playoff picture who are worried about a canceled season negatively impacting the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. That’s an issue we’ve touched upon in recent days, with Adrian Wojnarowski, Bob Myers, and Mark Cuban among those who have suggested that lottery teams will have to prioritize the “greater good” of the league, since the NBA and its players would benefit financially over the long term from playing as many games as it safely can this year and next.

As we relayed earlier this afternoon, the NBPA has reportedly begun reaching out to individual players to get their feedback on whether or not they want the season to resume.

Woj On Durant, Schedule, NBA Finances, More

May 11th, 2020 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Nets general manager Sean Marks isn’t willing to close the door on the possibility of Kevin Durant returning to the court if the 2019/20 season resumes this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski sounds prepared to slam that door shut.

In the latest episode of his Woj Pod, speaking to guests Rachel Nichols and Bobby Marks, Wojnarowski suggested that we still shouldn’t expect to see Durant make his comeback until the 2020/21 season gets underway.

“Kevin Durant’s not coming back to the Nets this year,” Woj said. “That’s not happening… They’re not playing him.”

While Wojnarowski didn’t go into detail on the Durant situation, his comment came during a discussion about teams being wary of rushing players back this summer, following a brief ramp-up period. The implication in Durant’s case is that the potential reward for the seventh-seeded Nets wouldn’t be worth the risk of possibly compromising the star forward’s health for next season.

Here are a few more takeaways from the latest Woj Pod episode:

Asked by Nichols if the NBA might play a shortened season in 2020/21 – particularly if it starts around Christmas – Wojnarowski stressed that’s very unlikely. As he explains, the league will be doing all it can to recoup lost revenue next season, which will mean playing as many games as possible (ideally 82) in ’20/21. In other words, if the regular season starts in December, it will likely run into June, with the Finals potentially ending next August.
During the podcast – and in a subsequent article for ESPN.com – Wojnarowski observed that the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to create major imbalances throughout the league. For instance, if certain states permit fans in arenas at the start of next season and others don’t, that could create a major earnings disparity between many of the league’s franchises, which could lead to competitive imbalance.
Additionally, as Woj details, a number of smaller-market teams rely on the NBA’s revenue-sharing model and benefit from huge gate receipts from markets like Los Angeles, New York, and Golden State. If franchises in those big markets still can’t allow fans in arenas when the 2020/21 season begins – or have to do so on a limited basis – it would have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the league.
Discussing the potential resumption of the 2019/20 season, Wojnarowski noted that the NBA will have to sell many of its lottery teams on prioritizing the “greater good” of the league — even if some of those teams would benefit (financially and otherwise) from simply canceling this season and focusing on 2020/21. Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers addressed this subject last week, vowing that his team would be “good partners” if and when the season resumes.

Atlantic Notes: Durant, Raptors, Knicks, Celtics

May 6th, 2020 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN analyst Jay Williams doesn’t profess to have any inside info on whether his friend Kevin Durant will aim to return this summer from an Achilles tear, but suggested to Marc Berman of The New York Post that the condensed nature of a resumed 2019/20 schedule may be a deterrent for the injured Nets star.

“It’s one thing to come back and start the beginning of next season where there’s time and space between games and (you can) keep your body ramped up the right way,” Williams said. “But someone coming back off an injury and (going) right into a playoff scenario, I don’t think it’s feasible or fair on Kevin himself. But Kevin is his own man. He’ll do what he wants to do.”

Durant’s return from last year’s Achilles injury had initially been expected to happen at the start of the 2020/21 season, but there has been speculation during the hiatus about the possibility of him making it back this summer. KD’s manager Rich Kleiman has repeatedly stated it’s not realistic to expect the star forward to return before next season, though neither he nor GM Sean Marks has entirely ruled out the possibility.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Raptors are in touch with officials at the city and provincial level in the hopes of being able to reopen their practice facility for individual workouts, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. As Smith notes, Toronto Mayor John Tory hopes to have an answer for the team by the end of the week. “A couple of athletes and a couple of trainers, quite literally, so you’d have a very small group of people in there,” Tory said. “That proposal, that we worked on back and forth with the Raptors, is under very active consideration. I think the discussions have been going well.”
In his latest mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv answers questions on Leon Rose‘s roster-building philosophy, the Knicks‘ decision to retain GM Scott Perry, and where the team stands on Frank Ntilikina, among other topics.
In a pair of articles for The Athletic, Jay King and John Hollinger examine Gordon Hayward‘s contract situation and a potential max extension for Jayson Tatum, and Hollinger explains why he’s not particularly bullish on the Celtics‘ group of rookies.

Sean Marks Doesn’t Rule Out A Return By Kevin Durant

May 3rd, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s manager and business partner Rich Kleiman has suggested Durant won’t try to return if the season resumes, but Nets general manager Sean Marks wasn’t as definite when asked about the possibility by Grant Chapman of Newshub in New Zealand.

“That’s a $110MM question,” Marks responded. “In all seriousness, we’ve tried not to talk about his timeline a lot. He knows his body better than anybody. Our performance team and training staff have done a tremendous job getting him to this point, but I just don’t know how coming out of this pandemic will affect anybody, let alone Kevin.

“When you’ve got enough invested in a player like Kevin, we’re never going to push him to come back. When the timing is right, he’ll be 100 percent when he gets on the court. I can tell you this though — before the pandemic, he looked like Kevin Durant and that’s a good thing.”

When Durant signed with the Nets last summer, it was generally accepted that he would sit out the entire season while recovering from Achilles surgery. However, the NBA’s hiatus may present an unexpected opportunity. Durant was participating in three-on-three scrimmages before the league was locked down and was impressing teammates with his play.

Durant is approaching the 11-month mark since suffering the injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and could provide a much-needed playoff boost to Brooklyn, which currently occupies the seventh seed in the East.

Also in the interview, Marks, a native New Zealander, said he remains optimistic that the league can finish its season, adding that the Nets’ staff is preparing for multiple scenarios.

“It’s not like we’re not throwing stuff on the wall, because we are,” he said. “We’re throwing stuff up there like, ‘what if this happens, what if that happens… what are the circumstances we would need to return’. Nobody quite knows what the new normal will be. The new normal we were predicting a week ago is vastly different to the one we’re predicting right now … things are changing so quickly.”

Nets Notes: Lue, Kidd, Durant, Martin

April 26th, 2020 at 4:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Many around the league believe Tyronn Lue, who is rumored to be in the running to coach the Nets next season, would be the best fit for Brooklyn, as Eric Pincus writes for Bleacher Report. Lue previously coached Irving in Cleveland and the Lakers’ guard has a reputation for managing top talent well.

“He can handle egos,” one former executive told Pincus. “[They] need a guy with rings … Ty all day.”

Jason Kidd would be another choice, as he has won a ring in the past and has the respect of players.

“I think Kyrie and KD would need a championship coach (Lue) or a Hall-of-Famer (Kidd),” said another executive. “I think both (players) have personalities that are mercurial and require different aspects from their coaches.

“I like Kidd. He’s very charming … LeBron speaks highly of him…Some people around the league say that’s his game: Be very nice, then get in while your guard is down.”

Kidd previously coached the Nets, where he reportedly lobbied for a title that would place him above the team’s GM in the organization’s hierarchy. The franchise opted not to allow this to happen and Kidd ultimately moved to Milwaukee to coach the Bucks. However, it’s worth noting that ownership has changed in Brooklyn since Kidd’s most recent stint. Still, even if there are no leftover issues within the club, some believe the former point guard isn’t made out for the position.

“Kidd can’t coach,” a different Western Conference executive told Pincus.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Nets‘ new head coach could come down to Kevin Durant‘s preference, Pincus adds in the same piece. Durant and his manager, Rich Kleiman, are expected to have influence on the selection.
Durant and Irving might be “too new-school” for the team to bring in Mark Jackson as the coach, an executive tells Pincus (same piece). Regardless of who the Nets choose, a decision isn’t expected for quite some time.
Ajayi Brown of NetsDaily breaks down the game of Jeremiah Martin, 6’2″ scoring guard who had just received a two-way contract with the Nets prior to the league’s hiatus. Martin only played 16 minutes for the Nets but was making strides while playing for the franchise’s G League affiliate.

Warriors Notes: Green, Durant, Future, Lottery Pick

April 24th, 2020 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

After weighing in earlier in the week on how Kevin Durant‘s contract situation affected the 2018/19 Warriors, Draymond Green got even more candid about the end of the Durant era in Golden State during an appearance on Showtime’s “All the Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. As Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area relays, Green went into detail on his infamous confrontation with Durant during a November 2018 loss to the Clippers.

“He comes to the bench and he slaps the bench like, ‘Yo! Pass me the f–king ball,'” Green said of Durant’s actions at the end of that game. “I’m like, ‘Get the f–k outta here. F–king run then.’ And he’s like, ‘You heard what the f–k I said’ and slaps the chair: ‘Pass me the f–king ball.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, you better calm the f–k down. I don’t know who the f–k you think you’re talking to.’

“Remember, I got the pulse of this team. I got the pulse of the organization. I already know you one foot in and one foot out. … I’ve been an All-Star before you got here. I’ve been doing this. Don’t talk to me like I’m one of these little dudes that don’t know how to hoop. I’m a grown a– man.'”

Green went on to describe the aftermath of that incident, which saw head coach Steve Kerr and GM Bob Myers ask him to apologize for his blow-up and then suspend him for a game when he wasn’t initially willing to do so. While Durant has suggested that the confrontation played a part in his departure from the Warriors, Green rejected the idea that he pushed KD out the door.

“This is f–king Kevin Durant we’re talking about,” Green said, per Shiller. “Yeah, I’ve done great things here. But let me tell you this — if Kevin really wanted to be here, all he would have done is went to Bob and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll stay. But Draymond gotta go.’ And guess what — Bob Myers would have called me and said, ‘Draymond, I love you — and I won’t trade you to a bad team — but where do you want to go?’ … You’re f–king Kevin Durant. If you wanted to be here, I would have been out. I would have been long gone.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Dan Feldman of NBC Sports passed along some additional choice quotes from Green’s appearance on “All The Smoke,” including the former Defensive Player of the Year’s suggestion that Durant was upset by the perception that LeBron James was still the NBA’s best player following the 2017 Finals. “You turn on the TV the next day, and the f–king headline is ‘LeBron James still the best player in the world, question mark,'” Green said. “You’ve got Stephen A. (Smith), you’ve got all these people debating it. And everybody still said LeBron James is the best player in the world. That’s when I kind of felt like it took a turn. And then we came back (for the) 2017/2018 season, and Kevin just wasn’t as happy.”
Anthony Slater and John Hollinger of The Athletic explored the Warriors’ future outlook, with Hollinger noting it would be surprising if Golden State isn’t willing to spend whatever it takes to add talent to the roster going forward, since the team essentially made that decision when it acquired D’Angelo Russell in last summer’s Durant sign-and-trade. Hollinger also suggests that using the “Russell strategy” – acquiring a player and being willing to trade him later – might make sense for the Warriors’ 2020 lottery pick if no appealing deals are available in the offseason, since more trade options could surface at the 2021 deadline.
In a separate piece for The Athletic, Slater explores the similarities between Stephen Curry‘s below-market value with the Warriors from 2013-17 and Scottie Pippen‘s bargain deal with the Bulls during their 1990s dynasty.

Load More Posts