If I were the Nets, I would call KD’s bluff if this is true.
The reason is simple.
If KD retires, you don’t have to pay him, and you can allocate that money to other players. It makes more sense to me to let him retire than to take a bad trade. Remember when OKC took a bad trade to get rid of James Harden and never truly fully recovered from it?
Durant is a top 5 player in the world right now. You can’t take pennies on the dollar.
You might not get dollar for dollar, but you damn sure better at least get 75c. Here is what Marc Stein is saying about the situation.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday that one team executive told him during the NBA Summer League that Durant “was more apt to retire than play again for the Brooklyn Nets.”
Stein followed up to write the situation hasn’t improved since then:
“If Durant hasn’t been traded by [training camp], there is a growing expectation in league circles that he will continue trying to cause as much of a ruckus behind the scenes to try to prod the Nets into lowering their asking price at last to facilitate a deal. If it wasn’t apparent by now, he really wants that trade to Phoenix or Miami or maybe even Boston or Philadelphia, no matter what it does to his reputation when he hasn’t played a single game yet under the four-year, $194 million contract extension signed in August 2021.”
The 12-time All-Star already issued a them-or-me ultimatum to Nets team governor Joe Tsai, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Charania reported on Aug. 8 he “reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that he needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash.”
Any type of trade or retirement would severely affect the Nets NBA Finals odds, according to Betus.com.
This will be very interesting when training camp rolls around in a month or so.
Flip the page for some of the Twitter reactions.