Brooklyn Nets make offseason moves with the possibility of starting the season with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
The Brooklyn Nets don't expect to part ways with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving soon. They have held their stance despite the superstar duo's trade requests.
Both superstars want to get traded and join a fellow title contender. But the franchise is in no rush to facilitate a deal and will take some time to examine its options.
The Nets are not willing to trade either Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving unless the price is right. This means an All-Star player, a Rising Star, multiple first-round picks and pick swaps.
At the same time, the Brooklyn Nets continue to make offseason moves and have signed veteran guard TJ Warren. This way, they aim to bolster the roster and add some depth as they seek the best deal for their superstar duo.
The Brooklyn Nets would welcome offers from teams interested in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. They expect this process to last long and likely end before the start of the season.
They are even making plans with the possibility that both superstars will still be with the team by mid-October.
The Athletic's Shams Charania told Pat McAfee in the Pat McAfee Show:
"The Nets, they pick up T.J. Warren today. They’re making moves, and they’re doing things this offseason with – in their mind – the preparation and operation as if they’re bringing these two guys back next season and playing with these two guys.
"Now, I think they’re open in dialogue, and they’re open to teams like Toronto, Phoenix, Miami making offers, but until they get that price threshold met, which I’m told is All-Star type players, a boatload of draft picks, they’re not going to move."
"The Nets aren't gonna move Kevin Durant until their price is met.. this process could take a while" ~@ShamsCharania
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Four top teams interested in landing Kevin Durant and the possibility of a third team getting involved to facilitate a deal with the Brooklyn Nets
According to several NBA Insiders, the teams that could land Kevin Durant are the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors. All four of them could create the ideal package for the Brooklyn Nets, however a third or fourth team could get involved to facilitate the deal.
One such team is the Houston Rockets. They are interested in negotiating with the Nets as a third party, The Athletic's Kelly Iko reports.
Kevin Durant has four years and $194.2M left on his contract and wants to join a team with multiple All-Star players.
Kyrie Irving recently picked up his player option worth $36.9M. He would welcome a move to the Los Angeles Lakers to reunite with LeBron James.
As Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweeted a few days ago, the Lakers and the Nets have engaged in talks, but the discussions are still preliminary.
Overall, both superstars will leave the Brooklyn Nets one way or another this offseason. However, one cannot rule out the possibility of the franchise pushing any agreement back to September or October.
Brooklyn Nets maintain discussions have only been preliminary at this point, sources say. twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/s…