Kevin Durant may be looking for more titles elsewhere.
Durant has called for a change in the Brooklyn Nets, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision who will no doubt have teams struggling to muster huge bids for the perennial All-Star.
The Nets have been working with Durant to find a business partner, and he has several teams on his favorite list, according to the person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither the player nor Brooklyn revealed any details publicly.
ESPN first reported Durant’s commercial request, citing Phoenix and Miami as two of its favorite destinations. The bomb arrived just hours before the NBA’s free agent period began this summer.
Durant has played 14 seasons, not including a year when he sat down while recovering from a broken Achilles. He has averaged 27.2 points in his career; during this period, only LeBron James, with 27.3 points per game, has averaged one more.
And even at his age, Durant will turn 34 on Sept. 29, when the training camps open this fall, he’s still one of the best players in the game, his 6-foot, 10-inch frame makes him his jump shot is almost unstoppable for any defender.
Durant is a 12-time All-Star, four-time top scorer, three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA champion: these rings come with Golden State, the team he was with before joining Brooklyn. He has four years and nearly $ 200 million left on his contract, which means he may need a lot of players, draft picks, or possibly both for a team to acquire him.
Durant spent three seasons with Brooklyn, not playing the first of those years while recovering from his Achilles injury. He averaged 29.9 points in 55 games last season, after leading the United States to Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games last summer.
Unless he changes his mind and stays, his departure will be a big blow to the Nets. At this time last year, the Nets were betting on fighting for a championship with a core led by Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
That plan did not come close to reality. Irving missed much of the year for his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19; he was ineligible to play in home games for most of the season. Harden ended up switching to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, who played nothing last season. Durant led Brooklyn to the playoffs, where he was swept in the first round by eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston.
And the low season has not been exactly quiet for the Nets either. Irving’s future was a big question mark until he decided to exercise his $ 37 million option earlier this week to stay with Brooklyn next season.
Now, Durant wants to come out, and the Nets will have to change their minds or move on with moves to review their team.