[Shams] Durant requests trade out of Brooklyn

He’s right. It took a career game from Royce O’Neale to stay in the game.

 

https://theathletic.com/3769515/2022/11/07/nets-nba-executives-poll-kyrie-irving-kevin-durant/

The Durant Dilemma

Front office executive No. 1

“At what point is Durant gonna say, ‘F— it. Get me out of here’?”

Again.

Remember, it has been fewer than three months since Durant issued his them-or-me ultimatum: He either wanted a trade, he told owner Joe Tsai, or to see general manager Sean Marks and Nash fired. And if he were dealt, he made clear, his strong preferences were Phoenix and Miami.

Yet regardless of who the next coach turns out to be, there is no shortage of executives who believe this group is already unofficially doomed in terms of title contention. Too much chaos, too little chemistry, and the kind of bloated payroll that many believe requires another roster overhaul even if Durant doesn’t ask for a trade again.

Durant, who is as elite as ever so far, is in the first year of his four-year extension and clearly worth every penny (a combined $197 million). The same can’t be said for Ben Simmons, who struggled in his first six games with the Nets and has missed the last four with knee soreness. The 26-year-old is signed through the 2024-25 season and is owed a combined $113 million.

So, I asked the execs, will the Nets brass keep forging ahead to this title-contending push that looks so implausible at the moment or start another rebuild by trading Durant?

Front office executive No. 4
“Just looking at Sean and his history, where he’s come from and what he’s done in Brooklyn, and then knowing that you have these (high-caliber guys) in this draft, I don’t see how he doesn’t (tear it down). Maybe it’s pressure from ownership, and they want to win, or whatever — who knows? But left to his own devices, I think it’d only be natural to expect that they move Durant.”

A quick bit of necessary context: While the Nets have a first-round pick for this year’s draft, Brooklyn has a pick swap with Houston that means the Rockets will receive the better of the two teams’ picks. The Nets also have a pick swap with Philadelphia, meaning their pick would improve if the 76ers finish the regular season with a worse record.

So while there’s no path with the Nets pick to landing top prospect Victor Wembanyama, there is a chance (however small) that they could land the No. 2 pick and have the chance to take Scoot Henderson. As our Sam Vecenie made clear recently, the top of this draft is considered very strong.

As a related side note, there’s this bit of remarkable Nets history: Their last lottery selection was Derrick Favors at third overall in 2010 — back when the franchise was still in New Jersey.

Front office executive No. 7
“If I’m the Nets, I’m looking to get a young star and a bunch of picks to retool the team. They’ve done it in the past already, and they can do it again. It’s a similar spot (leverage-wise to the summer, when the offers were known to be underwhelming for a star of his caliber). But before the season starts, everybody feels comfortable and is optimistic about their team. Now some teams are seeing cracks in their own foundation, and you start thinking, ‘Someone like Kevin Durant will completely change our trajectory.’”

New Orleans is often brought up in league circles as an intriguing prospect for a Durant deal with Brooklyn, what with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and all those surplus draft picks down on the Bayou. But as one executive surmised, Durant’s preferences would likely come into play again if the decision were made to move him.

Front office executive No. 6
“I’m assuming there’s some sort of agreement with Kevin. Like, ‘Look, if you want to move, we’ll move you. And we’re not going to move you to New Orleans and we’re not going to move you to Sacramento and we’re not going to move you to Indiana.’ So if the best Brooklyn can do is the Lakers, then if I was the Lakers, that’s what I’d be waiting on.”

Front office executive No. 8
“I don’t see them giving up (Durant) now. Not yet, anyway. They’ve gone this far. They’re going to want to see where it goes, especially with a new coach coming in.”

But it all starts with Irving. Either he fulfills the Nets’ demands and spends the rest of the season reminding the league’s talent evaluators why he’s worth the substantial risk, or continues this bizarre backward slide in a once-storied career.

Front office executive No. 5
“This (Irving suspension) is a step towards getting rid of him, whether it’s flat-out cutting him or trying to trade him. And I just can’t imagine KD wanting to be there, not because of his relationship with Kyrie but because the level of talent that’s going to be on that roster at this point in his career (will be subpar). I don’t see him saying, ‘Yeah, let me stick it out here and just be the eighth seed in the East for the next three years.’ I would think he would probably want to move on at that point.”

 

DOOMED

 

So he threw the coach under the bus. Now the coach was gone, he threw the teammates under the bus.

I don't know how they would not trade him.

 

And he's blaming everyone cept himself and his running mate Mr. I'm a Martyr.

 

And somehow people in the media hate on Harden more than this guy.

I don't remember Harden listing his running mates and saying we can't win. In fact I actually remember him getting them to the playoffs.

 

So if they end up at 9-20 what is the move? Keep the 7th pick and re-tool around Durant next summer?

 

ah KD must be one of the most overrated players ever....a 7 footer than can pull up from 30!... people are so easily fooled....

 

i always believed harden is better than KD...

 

It was another bad move by the Nets to hold onto Kyrie and KD.

They could have had a young star and picks for KD and atleast 1 pick for Kyrie. Now they get nothing for Kyrie and everyone will see them as desperate by the time they actually move KD (in addition to him being even older).

They held onto KD because they had the misguided hope that Kyrie wouldn't act up, Ben Simmons would be all star level, their role playing shooters would be healthy, and some of their young guys would make the leap.

Somehow they're in a worse hole now than they were in the summer.

 

From the time KD requested a trade to the time he rescinded it (lol), I don't think there were any reports of teams willing to give up young star(s) and/or picks for him. iirc it was a super quiet period of time. Even with his injury history, teams would normally jump at the chance to get KD for lesser pieces, depending on how desperate the Nets were, but I feel like no teams took the bait.

 

Not sure if they could get a young star (I mean a guy projected to be franchise level player, e.g. Ja, Lamelo, etc.). But they could surely get a haul of picks and high end role players.

I thought we would be better off if the Nets held on to KD for this season. They might be able to have a better record with KD carrying them but would be worse off long term. This is a swap year for us, so doesn't matter much if they are very bad as long as we are bad (although them being bad would increase our chances of getting a top pick).

 

I thought Brandon Ingram was on the table. But, yea maybe I'm using the term young star more broadly as in someone who has or will potentially be an all star caliber player. Obviously, no one's giving up a current or future superstar like Ja for any 34 year old.

I agree with you though the best case for us is they just play out this year, then Kyrie leaves for nothing, then KD just gets old and more injury prone, then they're left with Ben Simmons as their franchise guy. Trading KD and Kyrie would have given them too much ammo to get better before we get all their picks.