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.
Paul George and Marcus Morris for kd straight up
@cba93
Heck to the no. They both are most ideal at the SF position. They are both somewhat injury prone the last 5 years. They are both elite talents that in their past have been enigmatic non-vocal stars, reluctant to take a leadership role for their teams. They don’t need 2 of those personalities. They’re both towards the ladder few years of their careers and have shown a willingness to defend trades if unhappy in their environment.
Beggars can’t be choosers
@CBa
who’s begging ? clippers haven’t shown any interest on moving George nor acquiring Durant.
Not sure the Nets are begging. They have him locked for 4 years – his last good years, so I don’t think they need to do anything. And if he stays, they get what they wanted. And if he sits, we’ll, then he doesn’t get paid.
Not.
Ben Simmons still plays basketball?
Not only does he play. Hes 1 of the best in the world
sankara are you joking or do you actually think ben simmons is one of the best in the league right now
Runner up for DPOY last time he played. Pg for the #1 seed in the East. Extremely efficient, versatile, productive, exciting. Has played 4 nba seasons & been an all-star in 3 of those seasons. He was ROY in the other. 76ers have been MUCH better with him than without him over the past 8yrs (4 with & 4 without). Yea he’s easily 1 of the best players in the world lol where u been? He was drafted #1 overall, got a max contract extension after his rookie deal then was traded for 1st ballot HOFer James Harden a few months ago. Everyone with a brain knows that Ben Simmons is very good at basketball
@sankara
shown himself to be mentally soft? showed her is unwilling to take that big shot? and still can’t score more than 5ft from the bucket?
I wouldn’t want Ben Simmons taking the big shot for my team. That’s not what he’s great at. I wouldn’t want Shaq or Rodman or Kidd taking that shot either. Those guys are still HOFers tho. If you were watching that series & especially that gm7 you also saw Ben shutting down 1 of the best scorers in the league (Trae). That’s the type of thing he’s great at. Guys Iike you don’t notice stuff like that but it’s very obvious if you watch the games & it’s extremely important as well. Hence the max contract & all the accolades. Again Shaq, Rodman, Kidd, these are all guys that struggled to score efficiently outside the paint. Ben has always struggled to score outside the paint & always will. He’s still well on his way to being an all time legend. I guarantee you not liking him or not understanding his game ain’t gonna change that lol. He’s a fascinating basketball player tho I highly recommend you watch him a lil closer going forward
u spittin
Friend,Simmons wilts in the big moment, sits at crunch time because he cannot hit from the charity stripe, never met a shot he liked,quit on his team ah teams. Couldn’t handle playing second fiddle to the best player in the world joel Emvp. Shall I go on.
Go on if you can lol. Im pretty sure that’s all you got tho. He handled playing with Embiid extremely well. He’s literally the best player Embiid ever played with… I’ve already conceded that he’s not a shooter. We knew that 5yrs ago. He’s still been really good even without a jump shot. We also knew that was gonna happen 5yrs ago, hence him going #1 overall over other obv great prospects like Jaylen & BI. It’s not just at the end of the game or in big moments tho,he’s literally never gonna be a shooter lol. At some point yall have to come terms with this fact. It would be ideal if he was a shooter & also was as great as he is at everything else but like every non MJ/Bron guy in the history of the game, he’s not perfect. What he is tho is better than the vast majority of guys in the league tho. If you want a pg that can hit big shots at the end of the game you can get Kyle Lowry or Brogdon or guys like that. Ben Simmons is clearly a beast whether you realize it or not tho
Sank I agree, these are the kind of people that are giving basketball and basketball fans a bad rep. Not every great has to be a 3pt threat like you said everyone can have their own game like shaq and rodman hell i wouldnt trust rodman to make a basket let alone take the final shot but hes a historic player for other reasons… some on and off the court lol… but ben is a great player who has fallen victim to fans who probably have never even played basketball tbh which is sad but doesnt take away from the things hes accomplished in his time with PHI.
Ben’s time in Philly is sorta like Melo in Denver to me. Melo was better & had a more conventional game & was there longer but both guys helped change the vibe & perception as well as obv the talent level of those respective franchises as soon as they hit the court. Denver had missed playoffs for like a decade before Melo & were historically bad the yr before he got there. Very similar with Ben in Philly. Neither team missed playoffs with those 2 guys on their team
Brittney Greiner is better than Ben
3pt ? How about no fear of the shot. Address the man’s inability to hit a free throw son. Hack a ben makes him a liability at crunch time on any squad. Sits out after signing a max deal cause his feelings got bruised my god,a disgrace to the uniform worn by the legends in Sixers history.
James Harden is literally the best player Embiid has ever played with, followed by Jimmy Butler.
Good point. Not sure I even put Harden ahead of Butler. Harden is better offensively, but I don’t think that gap is as wide as the gap of Butler being better defensively.
Brogdon or Lowry and big shot player? Sure. You left out Ish Smith.
I still think he is one of the best in the world and wish we had kept him and built the team around him…but I am the only guy in Philly that will say that lol. But yeah, Ben is good despite the flaws
Grats on not just taking the party line like a lot of your compatriots.
Ben hasn’t played in 14 months, and no one knows when he will play again.
Ben Simmons will never play again. He has no heart and just wants to steal money.
Best in the world? That’s funny
Don’t know yet. It’s been so long I wonder myself.
“That means that Durant received $10,742,461 from the Nets on the day after he asked the team to trade him.” lol!. This plus that raid on mar-a-lago is gonna have some of yall Hulk mad lmao. Which 1 of yall hates KD the most tho?
I hate kd the most cuz of what he did to my thunder
Took them to their only Finals? Made them relevant from day1 of their existence? Provided thousands of hours of premium entertainment?
@sankara just how he left and went to one of their rivals. it’s ultimately his decision of course but it still hurts if your star player leaves and goes to a rival team.
@Shai
What exactly did he do to your OKC besides leave when his contract was up? They still had Westbrook and they were still able to attract other stars like George and CP3.
“…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.”
That’s a WHOLE lot of ifs!!!!!
Nets are far better than Lakers, which are title contender
Patty Mills is far better than Westbrook
What does it mean when a team is far better than title contender?
Lakers a title contender? In what league.
WNBA. Maybe.
#FreeKD
As great as KD is. I wouldn’t want him on my team. He deserves his fate. He created it all. Perfect example of —————
“Be carful what you wish For”
Second most boring in NBA. Nets have two most boring players in NBA. That’s what greed gets you …..