After almost two months, Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets have reached a resolution… for now.
The two parties have agreed to run it back and by declaring their intention to “build a lasting franchise”, it appears Durant is prepared to stay in Brooklyn.
Although, it is really that simple and why are two rival teams two of the biggest losers to come out of the Durant trade standoff?
Here is the verdict from NBA insiders on what the latest Durant development means and why it is too soon to guarantee it will all work out like Brooklyn hopes.
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A ‘MIND-BOGGLING’ REALITY CHECK FOR KEVIN DURANT
When Durant first made it clear that he wanted out of Brooklyn, it was largely assumed that the Nets superstar would get what he wanted.
After all, which team would not want a former MVP and 12-time All-Star? Well, it was not so much a case of rivals not wanting Durant as it was not wanting to go all out in a bid to get him.
Take the Memphis Grizzlies’ recently reported interest in Durant. Sure, they were willing to part ways with a host of first-round picks, but not Desmond Bane or Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote that this, along with Toronto and Boston’s refusal to include Scottie Barnes and Marcus Smart in deals was telling.
“I understand the context here, how the combination of his injury history, age and personality (will he be happy in the next spot?) impact every team’s internal calculus,” Amick wrote.
“But even with all of that, it’s still mind-boggling that KEVIN DURANT hasn’t yielded better offers than this.”
ESPN insider Andrew Lopez offered a similar take, declaring that the trade market did not shape up “the way anyone wanted”.
“Initially, it seemed Brooklyn could get a haul for one of the NBA’s all-time greats,” he added.
“Instead, teams weren’t even willing to put their second-best assets on the table to land KD.”
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps said that it is simply a “recognition of the reality of the situation”, that the Nets were not getting what they wanted for Durant, outside of a deal centered around Celtics rising star Jaylen Brown.
“The two choices Durant had were to either play or try to hold out. This is the only logical option for both sides,” Bontemps said.
“I’m sure he didn’t anticipate the Nets not getting the kind of offers necessary to get a deal done. But they didn’t, his image has taken a hit and he didn’t get what he wanted.”
Speaking on ESPN after the news broke on Wednesday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski said the Nets were “not close” to securing a trade for Durant.
“The trade market, I think, for both Kevin Durant and the Nets was not what they all thought it might be,” Wojnarowski said.
“Kevin Durant looked not only at the uncertainty of not being able to really control with the trade request where he would go. With four years left on his deal, Brooklyn could trade him anywhere.
“But also the team he had coming back in Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving on board ready to go this season. A rapidly recovering Ben Simmons, who is expected to be ready for the start of the season. And then a healthy Joe Harris. You go down the lineup, this is a very good Nets team.”
The Nets are seemingly back to being a genuine championship contender, although it is not all guaranteed to play out as planned, as a few insiders warned.
‘SERIOUS QUESTIONS’: DON’T GET TOO COMFORTABLE NETS FANS
Bontemps said it would be “foolish” to make any definitive calls about how this will play out while Jamal Collier is more “sceptical” about Durant’s future in Brooklyn.
“Everyone may be on the same page for now, but I don’t think we’re heading towards a redemption story like Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in 2007,” he said.
“This ‘outcome’ feels like it’s only setting up more drama.”
Veteran reporter Nick Friedell said similarly, revealing that he still has “serious questions” about how long the relationship will last, even after Wednesday’s reconciliation.
“The big question I have after seeing the statement is: How long will this last?” he said.
“That was a miserable team to be around at times last season, and now they’ll be able to rebuild their culture as training camp approaches? That would be a stretch.
“I have serious questions as to how long this will last before the next internal blowup — but with Durant, Irving and Simmons, they have a core in place that has the ability to get better together over time.”
The Athletic’s Mike Prada added that while Wednesday’s statement “calms the waters” for the time being, that could change very quickly.
“If the Nets’ season goes sideways, or even slightly off track, it will be hard for anyone to forget the ‘them or me’ ultimatum Durant directed at Marks and Nash just two weeks ago,” Prada wrote.
For the time being the Nets can breathe a sigh of relief, although it is not the same for a few rival teams.
WHY LAKERS, CELTICS ALSO LOSE OUT FROM TRADE DRAMA
The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have also taken a hit in the past few months as a result of the Durant sweepstakes.
For the Lakers, it will be an even bigger challenge to move on Russell Westbrook, and his $68m (AUD) contract, before next season now that Kyrie Irving looks to be staying put in Brooklyn too.
“The team most affected by Durant’s about-face are the Lakers, who were leading the pursuit of Irving using Westbrook’s contract to match salaries,” Prada wrote.
“But now that Irving is also likely off the market, the Lakers have little choice but to salvage the Westbrook situation.”
LA Times’ Dan Woike though is not so sure the Lakers do not have other alternative paths to consider in their bid to find a trade suitor for Westbrook.
In fact, he wrote that the path to dealing him now becomes “a little bit clearer” with Irving off the table, although a few question marks still remain.
“There are also some wait-and-see considerations to monitor when it comes to Utah and Donovan Mitchell, who have been in discussions with the Knicks about a deal,” he wrote.
“With a more settled view, the Lakers can be serious in discussions elsewhere around the NBA that don’t involve Irving — a factor that’s certainly affected their offseason since the beginning of free agency.
“Sources within the organization have insisted that their options have always extended beyond Irving. Now with Brooklyn’s situation settled, it’s on the Lakers to figure out theirs with Westbrook.”
As for the Celtics, reports emerged that they had put Jaylen Brown forward as a potential piece in a move for Durant, prompting the All-Star to tweet “smh” in response.
The Athletic’s Prada wrote that Boston “may have to do some damage control” with Brown and Celtics president Brad Stevens certainly did not dismiss the trade rumor in a recent radio appearance.
“Listen, at the end of the day I’m not going to go into any conversations that we had because I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Stevens said on ‘WEEI’s Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon’.
“But my job is to know what the costs are and then ultimately determine whether or not we want to be involved in any deal with any team around the league.
“Since the (Malcolm) Brogdon trade, we felt really good about our team. We felt really good about building around these guys that we’ve been building around, trying to accentuate our best players. We’re excited to move forward with our team and that’s really been our focus for a while.
“You say it’s been busy and there’s been a lot of talk but it hasn’t been from me. Hopefully, it gave everyone something to talk about. It’s been pretty quiet on our front for a while now.”
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