Reading some articles and watching some hoops news on my lunch and, I must admit, it is fun to watch as the world slowly starts to come around to an opinion you put out there months ago. The Nets openly indicating that they won’t trade Durant because they are unimpressed by offers for him thus far. That makes sense in a bunch of ways. First, Durant had two whopping teams he was willing to be traded to: Miami and Phoenix. Both of those teams were in the mix for a ring last season but came up short. Is the missing piece Durant, especially if the cost is a grip ton of draft capital and some of your best players? Does Durant gloss over the loss of Bridges ever-improving game or Crowder’s elite three and D skill set? Is he worth the potential that is Scottie Barnes? Of all the teams I still see Miami as the most equipped and (big and there) willing to pull the trigger on a move. Lowry has to be in the mix otherwise this doesn’t work. Lowry, Herro, Robinson and every draft pick until 2030 (with some work with OKC to remove protections on 2025 for a slight cost) is a pretty decent deal. Does it make the Nets contenders? Nope.
This is where the Kobe comparison comes back into play. Kobe had the ludicrous notion that the Lakers would trade him for just picks and expiring money. That is fire-able offense by any and every GM. Their job is to build a team, not make life easier for the players. A role that is far too often confused. The Nets looking at Miami’s “best” (which can’t include Bam unless the Nets move Ben which also won’t happen) have to think that rolling the dice with Durant, no matter how grumpy he might be, is worth it. Herro is good, maybe even super star good but he’s not there, yet and he’s not close to a decent two-way player. Robinson hit his ceiling two seasons ago and may not hit it again. Lowry is old and starting to break down. Keeping KD is a better option.
Brooklyn looking at what would/could now be Phoenix’s best offer (which can’t include Ayton as S&T or filler this summer) should also give pause. Does Bridges, Crowder and Johnson elevate you to contender status? No, but Phoenix has the most draft capital to spend which could be enticing if Brooklyn wants to go full rebuild. The thing is, Brooklyn has maintained all along that they want to trade Durant, replenish the draft pick farm and contend. Frankly, given Durant’s status as a current top ten player in the NBA and maybe top 15-20 All Time, why shouldn’t they? Why should they settle on spare parts and chump picks for one of the best to ever lace them up? The reasons aren’t plentiful, pretty much from what I’ve heard and read the answer back is “he’ll be grumpy”. That ain’t a reason, that’s an excuse.
So, if the Nets want to keep Durant and try to decrease his grump amplitude there really is only one thing they can do: keep Kyrie Irving. For whatever wacktastic reason Kevin Durant likes to be on the same team as Kyrie Irving to the point he indicated he would be less grumpy if he and Irving were traded to the same team. As if any GM in any sport on planet Earth would want to recreate Frankenstein’s monster for themselves just to watch it trash their team. I would imagine that, on an emotional level the Nets are 100% done with Kyrie Irving and his baggage. However, there are compelling financial reasons that are worth bringing up.
The market for Kyrie is even smaller than Durant’s wish list. It’s 1: the Los Angeles Lakers. The problem with a Laker trade is that it will have to be for Russell Westbrook. This will undoubtedly affect Durant’s grump factor and cause his Grump-O-Meter to dip wildly into the negative. There’s a reason why Brooklyn wants to get a Durant deal done first. It’s because if they choose to keep him they want Kyrie on the team to both stay competitive and throw Durant an emotional bone. “Hey guy, we didn’t trade you but we got your crazy friend still on the roster so we’re good, right?” is how one imagines the conversation could go.
The Nets might blink. Maybe they take above-average role-players and a lot of draft picks and call it even. I’m sure there are those within the organization calling for a total tear down and let’s just walk away from this ever growing dumpster fire. I’m sure there’s also a faction that demands getting worth back that feels equitable. That will be pretty hard to accomplish and that’s why, for awhile now, I’ve been saying the Nets are just as likely to keep both players as trade them.
If the Lakers want to move Russ, and I think they do and have been met with a lot of nothing, they need to see if Indy really is interested and get that deal done ASAP. Because as soon as Brooklyn announces they’re closing shop and rolling as-is that will about end the idea of a major trade happening prior to the start of the season. Summer League is over, people are going on vacation and turning their attention to things that need to be done post free agency. There will still be some trades but the chance that a big one happens decreases with every passing day.
Great post, Jamie. I completely agree with your opinion.
Great post Jamie. The only reason KD wanted to leave was because he felt Kyrie wasn’t treated fairly in his extension negotiations. Now Kyrie says he wants to stay. Of course that could simply be a public relations move in case he isn’t traded. Who really knows what is being discussed behind closed doors. It’s fun to blame the Lakers, but the delay in the trade may not have anything to do with the Lakers. It could be the Nets who are not ready to pull the trigger.
Exactly. Or Indy, as well. Russell and his expiring money will be on the table all season long. Nobody needs to rush to snap it up.
Thanks buba. It’s certainly not a fun or probably popular opinion but my feeling is more folks will come around to it as time wears on. Simply because it won’t be opinion by that time but fact.
I agree. I am just worn out by all these drum beats that don’t seem to attract any dancers. Just a long off-season, man.
I hear that, dude, loud and clear.
We’re in agreement that the Lakers need to move now. Completing the trade and getting rid of Russ and adding Kyrie is more important than any of our trading chips, including the two picks. Make them unprotected if you have to but get the deal done for Kyrie and two of Harris, Curry or Richardson.
That’s the same one-sided argument I’ve seen here and everywhere else. It takes two to tango and from what it looks like to me the Nets are perfectly fine sitting this dance out. For now.
That’s the other calculus that is often glossed over or wholly ignored: The Russ deal will be on the table all day, every day from now until the trade deadline or he actually gets traded. There will never ever be a publicly declared “we’re keeping Russ no matter what” stance. The offer is there, every team knows it. I have to believe that Rob is good enough at his job as to not let two draft picks five years out stop him from making a sensible trade, even for a guy who probably won’t top 50 games total, including playoffs, this season. No team is in a hurry to acquire Russ, that phone line will be open 24-7-365. In fact, the opposite is true: the longer you wait to make the Russ deal the more the Lakers pay. Are you telling me that every other GM in the Association isn’t mildly smug about that fact?
I think what everyone means to say is that the Lakers would very much, please-and-thank-you, LIKE to move fast. Brooklyn has Durant in the fold, they can trade him anytime over the course of the next 4 seasons. He’ll play, he has too much professional pride not to and he’s in the mix for some big records if he can average 60ish games a season for the next 4 seasons. He’s a legacy guy and he wants his to be one of the best.
If Durant is on Brooklyn Russell won’t be. They won’t do it for a buyout/cap relief, that’s coming when Kyrie’s deal is up next summer anyhow. It’s not a wild theory to suggest they simply bide their time, see what happens with Kyrie and COVID, maybe it doesn’t come to vaxx required for indoor events like it did last season, and they rocket out of the gate and look like barn burners.
It took a month or so into the season for Kobe to back down from his trade request and it was all because Bynum was playing well and the Lakers were winning. When he went down Kobe didn’t turn tail and say trade me he had conversations behind the scenes for them to do something an Pau Gasol rode into the picture. It’s not hard to see the Nets achieving something similar.
All of the same goes for an Indy trade, as well. I’m sure the Lakers would like for something to materialize quickly. I just don’t think it’s going to happen. There comes a time when you’ve asked the same girl to dance enough times that the plain old “no” she’s been saying all along sinks in.
Training camp starts in about 2 months…that’s the only date I’d like to see us shooting for to get a Westbrook/Kyrie trade done. Alot of our problems last season started with not taking camp & the pre-season seriously. Started slow out the gate and the sh!tshow was on. Wanna see D.Ham with the roster set and some actual momentum headed into October. Plus…mid season trades rarely work out. So we got 2 months….just my 2 cents.
As for KD, alot has changed both contractually & philosophically in the league since Kobe & Melo demanded trades. Kobe was Laker family and they were gonna do whatever they could to keep him here after wasting multiple years of his prime. That ain’t KD’s situation. The Melo thing showed what happens when you dismantle the entire team to get one superstar … a total of one playoff series win. KD set a very narrow set of parameters for him to be traded so if those aren’t met then he’ll most likely be back with the Nets with no harm done.
At any rate…there’s gonna be a whole lotta bullsh!t floating around in the next few weeks…lol
I think the Nets are taking a page out of both the Kobe/Melo handbook. KD has no leverage, same as Kibe at the time, and they really didn’t even make a move to appease him other than I think that ended up being the year D-Fish came back after he begged/snuck out of his deal with the Warriors? Would have to go check that one… Two months is a long time, especially with all that BS in the tub 😆
I think Kobe’s leverage was his history & relationship with the Buss family and the franchise & city in general. Lotta good-will built up there. They laid out a plan for him and Pau was there the following February.
That’s true, Pau saved the franchise and cemented Kobe’s legend and was largely dumped on thereafter lol. Loved Pau tho, one of my faves. Might go to the game they retire his jersey. Camp can’t get here fast enough at this point.