The Spurs received three first-round picks for Dejounte Murray and the Jazz overcame that, basically recovering five for Rudy Gobert, setting the bar for Kevin Durant. The Nets expect a fortune at the level of Elon Musk in exchange for his star, who has called for a change, and they could get it.
No, make them have to get it. The return of a king’s ransom for Durant will be CEO Sean Marks’ only chance to save a disastrous situation, to make it a re-equipment on the fly instead of a long and arduous reconstruction. .
This situation has essentially frozen much of the league, including the Nets, in deciding what to do with Kyrie Irving. It remains to be seen where the Nets will send Durant and how much they will get for him. The Jazz Bear is pending the answer, both as a template for the elections the Nets can get as a possible three-way business partner.
The Nets are believed to be looking for a young All-Star as the centerpiece of the deal, as well as a plethora of choices. ESPN reported that not only are more than half of the league teams named Marks with proposals, but also some have even stepped back to increase their bids before receiving a counter-offer. It is an unusual circumstance, but the whole situation is an unusual circumstance.
Kevin DurantAP
Durant-style players are not usually available. Durant has asked to leave Brooklyn not only because of the melodrama with Irving, but also because he didn’t see enough infrastructure and leadership in the franchise, Yahoo’s Chris Haynes told NBATV. But wanting to get out and get where he wants are two different things.
Durant has four years left on his contract and, surprisingly, has no player option or no-change clause. This has already reduced their influence in choosing a landing site, and the volume of offers the Nets receive will further reduce it. They will probably decide on one of these offers before deciding where to negotiate Irving and his expiring contract.
While the Nets will clearly work with Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman to find a suitable destination, Marks has shown he is not sentimental and will eventually accept the offer that works best for the organization.
The simplest and cleanest moves could be in New Orleans (around Brandon Ingram and the picks) or Toronto (based around the Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes and picks). Raptors chief Masai Ujiri switched to Kawhi Leonard in 2018 and won a title the following season. What would you give for four years of Durant?
There are glaring issues with Durant’s favorite teams, the Suns and the Heat, which could force them to expand the trade to involve one or two more teams. This is no stranger to Marks, who set a record for five NBA teams.
Sean MarksCharles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Nets cannot recover the best piece of the Heat, the Bam Adebayo center. The collective agreement will not allow them to switch to a player in an extension designated for beginners, like Adebayo, because they already have Ben Simmons in that deal. (Remember this peculiarity of the ABC. It will reappear. And again.)
And he says Durant only wants to play in Miami if he’s alongside Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, according to The Athletic.
The Nets can’t get Devin Booker back from the Suns and aren’t believed to be in love with taking on Phoenix’s restricted free agent center, Deandre Ayton, in a sign and trade. But Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reported that Utah is exploring a change for Ayton to replace Gobert. Phoenix could redirect the incoming election, along with its own and forwards Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.
But Jazz could be relevant otherwise, due to superstar Donovan Mitchell.
After Utah released Mitchell’s lifelong friend Eric Paschall, the Nets traded for his friend Royce O’Neale and the Jazz switched to Gobert, indicating they are rebuilding. This could motivate Mitchell to ask for a change. If that happens, he could tempt the Nets to leave Simmons to make any three-way deal possible for Mitchell.
There is a warm market, at best, for Irving. And since any deal for Durant will likely be more complex and certainly more important, the Nets intend to resolve it before sending Irving to the Lakers or anywhere else.