Would Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving be better off staying put in Brooklyn?

By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer

It’s been three weeks since Kevin Durant‘s business manager, Rich Kleiman, told ESPN that Durant had requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. And yet Kevin Durant remains a member of the Nets.

Not only that, but the market for Durant appears to have dried up. Because he recently signed an extension and still has four years left on his current contract, Durant can’t dictate where he goes next. At least he can’t dictate to the extent of disgruntled stars in the past, who were able to leverage the threat of leaving in free agency. 

Making matters even more difficult is the NBA prohibiting the dealing of players within one year of signing a max extension. That took players like Suns star Devin Booker and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson off the trade board for Brooklyn GM Sean Marks. 

Then there’s the rule against having two players signed to the so-called designation rookie extension. Currently, that group includes stars like Utah‘s Donovan Mitchell and, as it so happens, Ben Simmons, who, in case you forgot, is a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

Put it all together, and you can see why the Nets aren’t exactly overwhelmed with offers right now. There just aren’t many options. Teams that would want Durant and that he reportedly would like to play for — the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns — don’t seem to have the packages to get a deal done. The Heat can’t trade Bam Adebayo (designated rookie extension). The Suns can’t deal Booker or Deandre Ayton (max deals). 

Maybe there’s a zany multi-team deal out there, but right now nothing seems close to materializing, or particularly obvious. There are two teams that seemingly have the assets to get a deal done as well as the star power and depth to surround Durant with a championship-caliber roster even after a roster-gutting trade.

The first is the Pelicans, who can offer Brandon Ingram (25 years old, one-time All-Star, elite offensive player) and a bevy of draft picks and rights to swaps, some of which belong to the Lakers (thanks to the Anthony Davis deal), who are never a bad team to short.

The other squad is the Toronto Raptors, who can offer the Nets the reigning Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes. Durant would then have the opportunity to play in Toronto with some combination of Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet. Yet neither the Raptors nor the Pelicans has thus far displayed a desire to mortgage its future and flexibility for a chance to chase a title with Durant.

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All of which begs the following question: What the hell are the Nets supposed to do? Sure, maybe a Mystery Team emerges from the weeds as a potential Durant landing spot. Could the Celtics jump in with Jaylen Brown? Could the Sixers dangle Tyrese Maxey? Could the Grizzlies try Desmond Bane? Maybe the Warriors dive back in.

In the meantime, the Nets’ best course of action is to do exactly what they’ve done so far: nothing. Or, put a different way, they can do everything possible to kick the can down the road, get into training camp and get their stars — Durant, Kyrie Irving and Simmons — on the court together.

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It’s important to remember that this team has the potential to be absolutely loaded. We know what Durant is. We know how good Irving is, at least in those moments when he decides that he cares about being a professional basketball player. We know that Simmons, if on the court, boasts the ideal skill set to complement that duo. We know that Joe Harris and Seth Curry are two of the best shooters in the NBA. 

The Nets have even made a couple of nice wing additions in Royce O’Neale (a strong wing defender, something the Nets sorely lacked last season) and T.J. Warren (a smooth shooter), both of whom should make them better. 

Of course, looming over all of this are all the ifs. Is Simmons ready to play? Can Harris and Curry remain healthy? Does Irving’s promise of “daring to be different” include committing to performing on the court?

Anyone who has followed the NBA in recent years would bet against this group and these hypotheticals. And for good reason. We’ve seen enough to know there’s no reason to believe that the Durant and Irving-led Nets can succeed over the course of a full season.

And yet, would you be totally shocked if the Nets reeled off, say, 18 wins over the course of their first 21 games? Isn’t that a wager the Nets should make, at least if the choices are that or flipping Durant for some sort of B-level package that sentences the franchise to mediocrity?

Yes, the KD-Kyrie Brooklyn experiment has thus far been a mess. It also very clearly seems to be on its last legs. No NBA team has endured more nonsense over the past three years than the Nets. 

But what’s the downside of one more? The upside might just be a championship. That feels like a bet the team should feel comfortable making.

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.