Nets general manager Sean Marks has issued a statement indicating that star forward Kevin Durant has rescinded his trade demand and will remain in Brooklyn. Marks’ statement is as follows:
“(Head coach) Steve Nash and I, together with (team owners) Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and (Durant’s manager) Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday. We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.”
The news represents a major about-face for Durant, who requested a trade on June 30, then reiterated that request earlier this month and told Tsai he’d only stay if Marks and Nash were fired.
Although Durant pushed for nearly two months to be traded, his leverage was somewhat limited by the fact that he had signed a four-year extension with the Nets a year ago. That contract begins this season and will keep the former MVP off the free agent market until at least 2026.
With Durant locked up for four years, the Nets could afford to play hardball in trade negotiations this summer, reportedly demanding impact players and a series of unprotected first-round picks from suitors interested in the 33-year-old.
Although many teams inquired and some made intriguing offers (including a Celtics proposal that reportedly included Jaylen Brown), Brooklyn never seemed to gain any serious traction in trade discussions. The Nets’ sky-high asking price and hard-line stance perhaps reflected that hanging onto Durant was their desire outcome all along.
Given that we’ve only heard from the team so far and haven’t gotten Durant’s perspective, it’s unclear how genuine or long-term his newfound commitment to the Nets is. But for what it’s worth, Brian Lewis of The New York Post says this isn’t just a case of the team convincing Durant to stay for one more year and be placed back on the trade block next summer — the plan is for it to be a long-term marriage, Lewis tweets.
With Durant staying put, it appears Brooklyn will enter the fall with its Big Three of Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons intact after an offseason full of trade rumors. With talented role players like Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Royce O’Neale, Nic Claxton, Patty Mills, and T.J. Warren also in the mix, the club has a high ceiling as long as its stars remain healthy and effective, though there may be some lingering tension to work through after all that has transpired this summer.
Meanwhile, the teams that most seriously explored the possibility of a Durant trade will have to move on from those trade discussions. That group includes the Suns, Heat, Celtics, Raptors, and Sixers, among others. It’s possible that one or more of those clubs could pivot to pursuing Donovan Mitchell, who is now the biggest star available on the trade market, but many will simply focus on preparing for the coming season with their current cores.
That didn’t take as long as it might have. Somehow I doubt Vegas will make them title favorites this season.
They’ll be in the t0p 6 or so. This team is not a joke if these guys actually get on the floor and play.
There’s not many FAs left to sign. It will be interesting to see how they complete the roster.
They’re tied with the Lakers at 11-1. Curtis you are spot on.
Dang Lakers are at 11-1? I thought I was high on them just by having them come out of the play-in . . .
As of now, they are 6.
link to bleacherreport.com
I can’t find anyplace that has Lakers 11-1.
Caesar’s
When it was first announced they had both Brooklyn and LaL at +1100 now they have Brooklyn at +800
link to vegasinsider.com
Thanks for da link.
Not that you would want them at 11-1
It’s okay until you do this crap again. Smh
A true contender
oh Kevin. this is so embarassing for you
He’ll wipe his tears with 45 million he’ll be okay
There’s a Seinfeld episode where George’s gf won’t let him break up with her, how is this any different? lol
Any Seinfeld reference gets a thumbs up from me
Now if only they could trade Cancer Irving. Something tells me, his trade value is not real high at this point?
I’d rather have Remission Irving playing to his ability than Rusty Westbrook.
@Cap
I bet you cash money that this will be one of the best seasons for Irving? Trust the greed in ppl. He wants that next long term deal. It may or may not be a max deal but if he can play 70 games and post all star caliber numbers some team will give him a significant multi year deal next season. This would be the BEST time for whichever team has him. Problem is, he’s likely a 1 year and done deal so most teams are not going to be willing to send near equal treatment nor multiple 1st round picks for him like they might’ve done for Durant who had 4 years left on his deal.
This is akin to when a child finally cries itself out after throwing a tantrum: all the tears, words and feet stomping all for not.
Time for his juice and a nap.
Lol KD don’t want to be there, after throwing Nash etc under the bus they don’t want him there but no one will pay.
Kinda feels like a front. “Yer KD was available but he’s not now so he must be worth more, if you want him pay up”. I don’t see him in a nets jersey by the deadline. Either someone panics and offers the earth. Or nets give up and take less than he’s worth.
I agree that KD doesn’t really want to be there, but I don’t think the Nets are doing this thinking this will get teams to up their offers… They are dumb if they think that. The market is what it is and it isn’t very high for a max 33 year old player who seems flimsy and will do an about face at the drop of a hat.
No one will panic. The only thing that could happen is another teams superstar demands to be traded or disgruntled by the trade deadline or next offseason. That is their best chance of getting rid of KD for any real value. It’s possible considering how often it is happening nowadays.
Unfortunately for BKN they seemed to have cornered the market on disgruntled stars.
@Sports
Not necessarily true. Durant demanded his trade on June 30ty at a time whether a lot of teams had committed cap space to other free agents or in the Suns case, restricted free agents. Next year teams will have money coming off the cap and/or will have time to orchestrate better.
The Buck’s Middleton has a player option. If they let him walk then both the team and Durant might be interested on each other. A winning organization in a small market with a top 5 player who’s clearly the team leader who can allow Durant to just ball and NOT play a leadership role. Although not likely a destination he would want to go to but the Cavs, Dallas, Chicago, e.t.c can free up significant cap space.
He can thank Danny Ainge and the TWolves for why he’s playing for Brooklyn
He can thank them for the market being ridiculously overpriced right now, but I mean he signed the extension way before that…
I wonder what KD has to say about this…..
Durant staying was always the most likely outcome. Now if Kyrie keeps focused on basketball (a big if) and if Simmons can get his mind right (another big if), the Nets can win the East.
Did the league move Boston and Milwaukee to the West and I missed it?
Team dysfunction has zero chance of winning the East otherwise.
If there was zero dysfunction or injury, Nets are better than both C’s and Bucks.
But dysfunction is what Nets do. Two of the best players in the league with attitude problems. And a 3rd AS all defensive time bomb.
It’s not just attitude, it’s the lack of understanding by KD and Kyrie that playing as a team matters more than being really good at Isoball.
Even in the best case, Celtics and Bucks are both better than the Nets.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. Kyrie is one of the best 1on1 players ever to play and yes KD is KD but they still both averaged 6+apg last year and with a returning Harris(one of the best perimeter shooters in the league) and a growing Claxton. Along with the best defensive “guard” in the league with Ben. I can’t see either bucks or Celtics being better.
Giannis, JT and KD are in a league of their own. But their 2nds Kyrie is better than Brown and Middleton and their 3rds is where simmonds is needed as Holiday and Smart are good but he’s also better. Then it falls to the role players, I like Celtics more than Bucks in that department. But I still prefer Nets.
But again we’re talking sillyness. We all know KD Kyrie and Simmonds will never be a good fit. Plus don’t count out the 76ers(2018 rockets+Embiid and Maxey). They’ve added good players and If harden is as good as he looks in training I’d be backing them. Especially after Joel’s MVP snub.
Kymie avg’d 5.8 apg in his 29 reg season games last season. 5.3 in the playoffs.
That’s lunacy, the Nets have no depth and are too old. No one on the Nets is stopping Giannis in the playoffs, no one. Bucks in 4.
Nets a 5 seed at best. KD is old.
That “old” KD was 3rd top scorer all NBA last year?
If Nets switch Simmonds onto Giannis in D he will do a better job than most. We could say the same about KD but Celtics doubled/ tripled him the entire game which worked. It’s not about stopping him as we saw last year. It’s about stopping everyone else. One player can’t win it all, but blocking the lane and forcing him to shoot from distance would work. Middleton needs to play perfect to beat Celtics and 76ers this year. With regards to nets we’re all talking about the nets, they’ll implode which will make good convo. BUT if(and that’s a big if) they do work together they’ll be up there. It’s close with Bucks, Celtics and 76ers this year. Don’t count out Hawks either.
What was KD’s rank in ppg in the playoffs?
He was 8th at 26.3, behind Brandon Ingram. The Celtics doubled/tripled Stesh too…
“Steph””
It was still higher than Tatums stats for an “old guy”.
No argument in the C’s series they locked KD down with next to no help from Kyrie.
Yes Steph was doubled and tripled but he’s the greatest shooter of all time. Plus he had Wiggins, Klay and Poole to step up when he was, which forced them to let up on Steph which he utilised with how quick his shot release is.
Lol, Tatum scored 29.5 ppg vs the Nets.
Kyrie avgd 21.3 ppg, No Warrior besides Steph scored over 20 vs the Celtics.
Because C’s had the best defence in the league and Celtics just had Neta number. And They didn’t need to score 20+ they just need to collectively contribute to which no one really did for the nets apart from Kyrie.
All im trying to point out is KD is still a top player and not just “old” Plain and simple. He’s not Some scrub who can’t cut it in the off season. Finals MVP’s are usually pretty good and he is beyond good anyone would by lying if they said they didn’t want him.
Yeah thinking I would still take a 34 year KD over a lot of players in the league.
No the Nets are not better than both the Cs and Bucks. In fact they might not even be better than the Sixers.
Nets are top heavy. I don’t think they’re a better TEAM than either of those 2 mentioned.
Zero chance? Then you would be happy to give me 1 million to 1 odds on that, right? My dollar is on the table for that bet.
All teams healthy, “Zero chance” is correct.
We forget the Raptors have a great Team a Great Coach and a Great front office?
Nothing stopping them from winning the East either
No way raptors current roster and team can beat Celtics Bucks 76ers Heat or even Bulls.
The Raptors are way better than you think. You are massively underrating them. Sneaky good roster might finish top 4 at the end of 82.
I like Raptors, but I don’t see them beating Celtics, 76ers, Bucks, Bulls, or Heat this year. I see them fighting for 6th with Cavs and hawks.
Siakam, Fred and OG are very good and can put up regular 20+ Games but to compete they need a big jump from Scottie, which isn’t out of the question. I like Raps style they’re horrible to play, but they need that superstar to take over nightly which I think will be Barnes eventually.
Nets are 5th seed if everything bounces right.
Did you not just watch the Celtics fall short due specifically to lack of depth? Come on, learn….
Everyone forgets that before KD got hurt last year, the Nets were the top seed in the east for a while. And they would have beaten the Bucks had Kyrie not gotten hurt, they were just plain overwhelming Milwaukee, and that was with Harden hurt. I’m not saying they’ll win the East – I certainly don’t think they will – but they DO have the POTENTIAL for a top three seed.
The Nets were the top seed in like December, not even halfway through a season.
Also why is this season gonna be different for KD’s Achilles?
I think the Nets are the 4th or 5th seed depending on what the Heat do.
I’m not saying KD won’t get hurt, I’m saying that if KD, Kyrie, and Simmons can stay healthy and play well they have to be a contender. Not all that likely IMO, but still a chance it happens.
I would agree with you in that they’re a 4 or 5. Wouldn’t be surprised if a team like Atlanta is better than them, too.
Eh, I think they can win the East. Do I think that’s likely? No. But I’d still give them a non-zero chance even with all the potential issues.
I agree with you
Looking forward to Durant having an unrelated hamstring strain that prevents him from playing in 2/3 of the games.
That or shows up to training camp suffering from Anxiety.
Dude is a joke. Can’t even force his way out of town
This is like the Seinfeld episode where George’s gf won’t let him break up with her lol
Until tomorrow, when somebody says they heard somebody say Durant will retire.
I don’t care what anyone says,
IF, and I do mean IF, Durant, Irving, and Simmons all decide to get a little redemption and play this team is pretty much guaranteed 55 wins and a shot at a chip.
Mills, Harris, Claxton, and Warren all are more than capable role players if the three stars don’t implode.
If pigs could fly we’d also all have to be a lot more afraid of what falls from the sky, too.
Point being, you look at the talent on the team and what you’re saying sounds plausible- but this was way more than just a trade demand. Durant asked for the coach and GM to be fired. Plus, what’s different this year? You never know what you’ll get from Irving. Simmons is a question mark. In a building full of human beings, how can all of that not impact morale and chemistry?
Did you notice the “If” I put in all caps a few times? You just said the same thing I did.
Nowhere near the depth needed to win it all (see the Celtics team that just lost the finals) plus too Nets are old in general. They are the 5th or 6th best team in the east and absolutely NOT a finals contender. The Bucks will eat them alive.
Did Ben Simmons learn to shoot FTs all of a sudden?
Being a Cs fan I have a very long memory of Mr. Simmons and he fell apart in the playoffs long before 2021. I remember the Celtics basically not playing him on Defense and playing 5 on 4 and Philly not wanting him in the game in the 4th bc of his inability to shoot or shoot FTs. Nothing has changed, he is still the liability he always was.
Ask Philly fan… I am sure they will give you their opinion on Mr. Simmons.
You also might want to look at the big capital “IF”‘I put in there a few times.
This news affects everybody else more than Durant.
Trust, he just wants to hoop.
Did he want a trade? Sure!
It didn’t happen.
His mindset is, “Fck it… let’s hoop!”
Exactly. He’s a fickle dude but he does like to hoop, no doubt.
Nah his mindset was, “Sheeh nobody wants me as bad as Gobert…. I guess I’m too old to sit out!”.
How are both the Nets and KD so delusional about who he is as a player in 2023? Dude ain’t exactly washed but he ain’t exactly MVP material either. Steph is 100 levels above him right now. Nets should have taken a starter plus a couple picks and whatever else to match salary – it was an easy deal they decided not to do out of pure delusion. Now he’s back, they have the 6th best team in the east, whoop de doo.
The trade demand is why we all hate him now.
BTW literally demanding a trade kinda is the opposite of “Trust, he just wants to hoop.” so maybe get off the d?
He’ll take out his anger on Gobert when they face the T-Wolves hahaha.
I think kyrie and Simmons should be flipped for maybe Beal and Sexton and everything will be back to normal with no headaches or drama.
Their lineup will look like:
Sexton
Beal
O’Neal
Durant
Claxton
Washington definitely wouldn’t trade Beal for Kyrie and I doubt Cleveland would trade Sexton for Simmons. Simmons value is so low. He needs to play some to up his value back up before he can be traded for anything again.
T minus 4 weeks until mental health keeps him off the floor. Nets don’t win this situation
Nah, that’s not going to happen.
He’s a great player who reacted badly in a situation and said some things I’m sure he regrets. People react emotionally all the time, not everyone is under such a microscope. His comments about Marks and Nash are easily fixed with a sincere apology. Although the fans think otherwise, he doesn’t owe them an apology. Not a Net fan, but wouldn’t bet against them is their big 3 put together a solid and healthy season.
Sports and politics generate so much hate. SMH.
KD is such a nerd. Needs to delete his twitter account, he’s not doing anything good for the game on it. Mouthing off to random fans when you’re supposed to be a hero to kids? Grow up, you dork.
You guys heard it. Straight from the mouth of the owner. They will be continuing their “Partnership” with Kevin Durant. KD and Kyrie are calling the shots now. It was kinda like that before. It’s now their team. Let’s go get this championship!
So this is probably foreshadowing that a trade is imminent…
Nooooo there goes all the Rockets good draft picks!!!
KD can, with time and effort, un-ring the bell as to his trade request. But he’ll never be able to un-ring it with respect to asking for Marks and Nash to be fired. That will follow him into every post-game PC for most of the year, and then resurface during the playoffs when the national media gets more involved. It also eliminates any trust between him and those two. All needless, really, as that accomplished nothing beyond his trade request/ demand.
Reportedly offered Jaylen Brown should be changed to allegedly as no one outside of Shams ever corroborated that.
Nets will still trade Durant if a team make an overpaid offer like this
All star Wiggins
Rising star Poole
Rookie contracts wiseman and Kuminga
Wiggins is ineligible due to Simmons being a Net.
Besides, GSW doesn’t want KD.
Bets might win it all. Best team in basketball on paper. You online cats just talking!
Best team in basketball to not get out of the 2nd rd. But miracles can happen!
Good for the owners, they showed KD who’s boss. Don’t forget that how much they pay you they still own you….yay!
On court it is an intriguing product, that is if they actually run offensive sets. Hopefully it’s not just your turn my turn iso ball. If Simmons has his confidence back your surrounding him with 4 excellent shooters, two of which when on point are two of the most dynamic players in the league.
KD is going to ito go back to his Golden State days and buy in on defense because Simmons can’t defend everyone and Irving, Curry and Harris aren’t exactly stout. Maybe they start O’Neale at the 3 to compensate. $18.6 million would sure be a lot of money for a one dimensional backup though.
Kevin Durant Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons can be a dangerous team. Then they have some great shooters over there in Joe Harris and Seth Curry
You heard it here first! Russell Westbrook to Charlotte after being cut by the Lakers.
He has a contract, so the Lakers can’t cut him. They could buy him out, but it’s unlikely to happen.
They will buy him out. He will be back on the market as a free agent.
That’s been discussed for at least 5 months as an unlikely possibility. Is there any reason why you think something has changed?
We don’t want him.
-Signed, Hornets fans.
Well, he does have a contract. Not that that matters much anymore.
Nets then moving forward have to decide on a starting 5, I’d have 2 ideas
Either 1,
Simmons Kyrie KD ONeale Claxton
Or 2,
Kyrie Harris Simmons KD Claxton
Do you play big with Simmons at his preferred spot at the 1 and Kyrie at his preferred spot at the 2. This means ONeale comes into the side and he’s a decent fit as a 3 and D forward however with Claxton on the floor the spacing would be a little weird as no one stands out as a amazing catch and shoot player for Ben. Ofcourse KD and Kyrie can do that but it’s not their main skill.
Then if you don’t play that way Ben off ball isn’t going to offer much at all.
That’s why I think you have to play guys not in their favoured spots. Kyrie at the 1 where he’s proven himself, can handle the rock better than anyone, already has a connection with KD and you roll with that. Ben moves into either SF or PF, which means you can play him from the post alot more either looking to score or looking to create down there for others in a Jokic style. Joe Harris comes into the starting line up instead of Royce, he is one of the best catch and shoot guys ever and he’s decent on defence so it makes sense really.
Plus with the KD and Kyrie stuff now to the side and Ben coming back to full health do you look into making other roster moves. Don’t really have a back up 5 and Seth Curry was floated around as a likely trade piece. I think TJ Warren was a great pick up, nurse him back to health and hopefully he can provide some impact off the bench similar to like Kelly Oubre.
I’d heavily look into trying to get Myles Turner. Another excellent defender, can space the floor, doesn’t require a bunch of touches, Pacers are going full scale rebuild so they would take offers and he’s also on an expiring contract so his value is somewhat lower.
If you get Turner he could be helpful in making KD want to stay, a lock down 5 that makes them title favourites and played team USA basketball. Alternatively if KD decides to leave gain then he’s the perfect fit for building around Ben Simmons as a floor spacing 5 with elite defence.
Turner definitely fits with Simmons way better than Claxton.
Starting 5 is set
Kyrie
Seth Curry
KD
Royce O’Neal
Ben Simmons
Bench – Joe Harris, Nic Claxton, T.J. Warren, Cam, Paddy Mills
Ship
Simmons has never played the 5 so I doubt that happens but we will see