Latest On Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving

With no indication that the Nets have made any recent progress on a trade involving Kevin Durant, Ian Begley of SNY.tv says multiple people familiar with those discussions were pessimistic late last month about the odds of a deal getting done anytime soon.

As Begley explains, those sources suggested that teams around the NBA aren’t eager to be the third or fourth team in a trade that sends Durant to another club.

“No one wants to help (Brooklyn get a deal done),” one team told Begley.

While some of Durant’s potential suitors – including the Celtics and Raptors – have the pieces necessary to get a deal done without bringing in a third team, others would be hard-pressed to do so.

The designated rookie extension rule that prevents the Nets from acquiring certain players while Ben Simmons is on their roster further complicate certain straight-up trade scenarios — for instance, even if the Heat are willing to send Bam Adebayo to Brooklyn in a package for Durant, the two teams would likely need to bring in another team to take Simmons.

According to Begley, one source he spoke to near the end of July described the Durant talks as being in a “holding pattern.” It’s unclear if the meeting reported to be taking place between Durant and Nets owner Joe Tsai has occurred yet or if it will help the situation move forward at all.

Meanwhile, there have been no reports as of late indicating that the Nets have been actively pursuing a trade involving Kyrie Irving. According to Begley, a source close to the star point guard said this week that Irving is in a good place with the team and is comfortable remaining in Brooklyn to begin the 2022/23 season.

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