“The Nets are holding a hand that has a bunch of losing cards” - NBA insider says the Brooklyn Nets are in a stalemate with teams in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, says teams are not improving their offer
Kevin Durant’s hopes of moving to a new team have hit a stalemate, according to Brian Windhorst. He explained that the Nets are in a tough spot where they cannot do much.
After Kevin Durant requested a trade, the basketball world erupted with wonder as to where he was going to end up.
Unfortunately for Durant, he is yet to find a probable destination. The asking price for the superstar is too high for teams to participate in. The Brooklyn Nets asked the Suns for Devin Booker if they wanted Durant, which explains the caliber that Brooklyn is planning to trade at.
After the recent Rudy Gobert trade, the league’s eyes opened up in regards to KD. Gobert was traded for five players, four first-round picks and a future pick swap. That value really put into perspective what teams were going to have to dish out for Kevin Durant.
Windhorst further added that while teams are interested in Durant, they are not keen on increasing their offers. He said:
"So there are teams out there who are in the Durant sweepstakes and they're not interested in improving their offer. As a result, there is a stalemate."
He discussed the options the Nets have, saying their best bet is to retain KD.
"The Nets are holding a hand that has a bunch of losing cards in it. And the best of those cards is to try and get Kevin Durant back. That is the strategic play here but we don't know how Durant feels about it."
If the Nets were to stick with both Durant and Irving going forward, there could be another tumultuous season coming up. When players lose their lust to play for a city, it shows and reflects on the stat sheet. .
Immediately after Kyrie opted into his player option with the Nets and secured himself in Brooklyn for another year, Durant requested a trade. That chain of events cannot be a coincidence. If that was going to happen, Kyrie would have known and probably stayed available to trade himself.
Of course, the option does not force Irving to Brooklyn for another year as he can still get traded. The situation is more realistic than moving Durant on.
If a team wants Durant, they are going to have to uproot stars of their own, or a dominant majority of their core and future.