Kevin Durant remains a member of Brooklyn Nets despite his June 30 trade request.
The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat have often been mentioned as potential suitors to acquire the 33-year-old star, who Brooklyn has set a high price for.
But a new report from The Athletic said the Memphis Grizzlies have made “new inquiries” about Durant.
Recently, Boston reportedly offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a future first-round draft pick to Brooklyn for Durant. Meanwhile, the report says the Grizzlies are willing to part with a bunch of first-round draft picks to acquire Durant.
All that said, the report says Brooklyn’s trade talks with other teams have been “non-existent” recently. Boston isn’t willing to move big man Robert Williams III, Memphis isn’t willing to move young players like Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., Toronto isn’t willing to move Scottie Barnes and Brooklyn isn’t intrigued by a package trade from the Suns to the center. about Mikal Bridges and future first round draft picks.
In addition, Miami has shown no interest in moving All-Star center Bam Adebayo, while the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks have checked on Durant’s trade options.
Given the tiresome state of his trade market, could Durant finally suit up for the Nets on opening night of the 2022-23 NBA season? Furthermore, could he do so alongside Kyrie Irving, who exercised his $36.5 million player option for next season and has been at the center of trade discussions ever since?
Durant and Irving have recently been spotted working out together in Los Angeles, and Shannon Sharpe, host of “Undisputed,” thinks the two superstars doing so is a positive development for Brooklyn.
“They seem to be on good terms,” Sharpe said. “It’s hard for me to believe that if they weren’t on good terms, they would be working together. That’s also a good sign for Kyrie considering it doesn’t look like KD will be traded and if KD won’t get traded, it doesn’t look like Kyrie will be traded, so this works out well for the Brooklyn Nets.
“I don’t know how well it works for KD. KD probably still wants to move, but it doesn’t look like it [it will happened] as we approach camp, and I don’t see a scenario where they trade him mid-season at the trade deadline. It looks like Kevin Durant will return to the Brooklyn Nets for at least another year and Kyrie Irving will join him.”
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving work out together amid Nets trade rumors | UNCONDITIONED
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant worked out together over the weekend. Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe decide if this is good news for the Brooklyn Nets.
Skip Bayless also thinks Durant and Irving working out together bodes well for the Nets.
“X-factor felt like Kevin had asked for a trade because he was done with Kyrie, that Kyrie had betrayed him,” Bayless said. “Kyrie had rubbed everybody the wrong way because he wouldn’t get vaccinated. He wouldn’t participate. I thought it destroyed the psyche of this team all year and Kevin just couldn’t stomach it, and I thought we had a half-hearted Kevin. in the first round of the playoffs.”
“Boston was a lot better. Boston’s defense just attacked him and made him look weak, made him say, ‘No way,’ basically. And yet, at the end of the day, he’s asking for a trade because he wants to leave by Kyrie, who had picked So, you know you’ve got Kyrie there for one more year at a pretty modest rate.”
The Nets were swept by the Celtics in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Durant is entering his 15th active NBA season (he missed the 2019-2020 season with a ruptured Achilles tendon). He averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 51.8%/38.3%/91.0% last season.
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