The rumors that Kevin Durant would demand in Brooklyn if Kyrie Irving left the Nets was the most important story Thursday night in the 2022 NBA Draft.
During, however, he reportedly did not tell the Nets that he would ask for a change, just a map of how they would plan to face after Irving.
Of course, all this could be to put the cart in front of the horse. It is believed that Irving and the Nets are still looking for common ground to keep him in Brooklyn, although the Mercurial Guard is looking for a longer deal and the team prefers a shorter one. Nets CEO Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai are believed to agree on the matter.
The parties came to a dead end in the negotiations and several outlets reported that if Irving left, Durant, who arrived as a package with his longtime friend in 2019, would remain the same in what it would be a catastrophic scenario for the worst of the Nets, one the Rockets would no doubt appreciate.
But ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that it’s not a forgotten conclusion.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie IrvingGetty Images
“KD wanting to stay with the Nets doesn’t necessarily depend on whether Kyrie Irving walks. That, if he walks, he wants to see how the squad could still be, how he could be remodeled, how he can still be a championship contender,” he said.[Durant’s] beginning this new four-year maximum agreement. This is not the transfer portal. You can’t tell where you’d like to go. So if he’s decided and wanted to and asked for an exchange, which they tell me they haven’t told the Nets what he’s going to do or is willing to do, he probably won’t have much word on where he’s going.
“This is how it should be [Durant’s] thinking if he asks to leave Brooklyn. But right now, I still think there’s a way for the Nets, for Kyrie Irving for Kevin Durant to find a way forward together. But it is murky, and it is uncertain. Listen, the future of this Nets organization will be very well determined here in the next few days to a week. “
Irving has until Wednesday to pick up his $ 36 million player option for next season. He could decline it and become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team he can afford.
And here lies the friction.
Without any contenders having a significant boundary space (the Lakers could offer him an average $ 6 million taxpayer-level exception or a $ 30 million pay cut), Irving’s options are limited and his best influence comes from threatening his friend Durant by following him through the door. .
But there is a perception among some league staff members that this is an elaborate and well-coordinated beacon.
Irving would prefer a long-term deal to stay in Brooklyn or leave through a sign and trade, so he can actually get a proportional contract. He gave the Nets a list of favorite destinations: Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Lakers, Mavericks and 76ers. Athletic reported that “there is an expectation that Kyrie Irving will soon proceed to find a home through a subscription and an exchange.”
A sign and a change would limit the team to getting Irving. Choosing to participate and wait a day would remove this hurdle and facilitate an agreement.
But not all the teams Irving wants want him in return.
The Knicks, for example, have been actively cleaning up the space. On Thursday they changed Kemba Walker and a first-round player to the Pistons, but he was chasing Jalen Brunson, not Irving.
The Nets entered the draft in their building without a single selection (they postponed the first round they got from the 76ers in the James Harden-Ben Simmons shift next year). They gave Houston not only their first 2024 and 2026 for Harden, but also the right to trade in 2023, 2025, and 2027.
They have also exceeded the limit even if Irving leaves as a free agent, so they should be creative to keep a winner around Durant and Simmons. These are the conversations Durant will demand of Marks. Tsai liked a tweet that supported his general manager and included “Team and culture> any player.”
According to Athletic, the Nets signed Alondes Williams to the 6-foot 5 and 210-pound Wake Forest guard for a two-way deal. He has a great structure if a medium range, and averaged 18 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 assists. Williams was selected as a second-round pick in simulated drafts.