NBA Rumors : Brooklyn Nets and NBA champion have "mutual interest" for acquisition
With the Kevin Durant trade saga behind them, the Brooklyn Nets should look forward to opening the season ready to contend for the championship.
Durant's return to the fold with Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving solidies a bona fide "Big Three." Formidable role players in Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Seth Curry give Brooklyn outstanding depth.
The Brooklyn Nets added T.J. Warren and Royce O'Neale in the offseason. In addition, Brooklyn could be eyeing Markieff Morris, as reported by Chris Milholen of Nets Daily.
Sources tell @NetsDaily and I the Nets and free agent Markieff Morris have mutual interest.
Morris played last season with the Miami Heat and averaged 7.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He shot 47.4%, including 33.3% from the 3-point line. He won a championship with the LA Lakers in 2020.
The Kevin Durant saga ends, and the Brooklyn Nets are back together
After nearly two months of speculation over where Kevin Durant would be traded, we finally have the answer: nowhere.
According to a team statement on Tuesday, Durant met with the Brooklyn brass in Los Angeles on Monday. Durant; his business manager Rich Kleiman; owner Joe Tsai, general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash got together.
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Steve Nash, Joe Tsai and Sean Marks met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles on Monday and have decided to move forward with partnership, Nets say.
Durant's decision didn't necessarily come as a surprise. The asking price for Durant should have already been high after Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the price tag became almost unreasonable.
Durant wanted to go to a contending team, and very few teams had the assets to stay championship-relevant after trading for him.
With Durant back on the Brooklyn Nets, we now have a clearer picture of the Nets' roster.
Before naming a potential starting five, the point guard position needs to be addressed. Irving and Simmons have both played at the one their entire careers, and both possess different skills.
Simmons is an anomaly when it comes to the point-guard position. What he lacks in free-throw percentage (lowest among PGs in 2020-21), he makes up for in size (6-foot-10). Simmons is an elite passer and rebounder, whereas Irving is more of a score-first point guard.
The consensus seems to be to follow the Golden State model. Steph Curry is the point guard there, but Draymond Green, as a power forward, is the primary facilitator on offense. Green is usually found at the top of the key looking for Curry and Klay Thompson.
Similarly, Simmons could play as a so-called "point forward," with Irving at point guard. With Simmons at power forward, Durant falls to his natural position at small guard and Joe Harris at shooting guard. Nic Claxton at center rounds out the starters.
A potential starting five for the Brooklyn Nets could look like this: