Getty Brooklyn's Kevin Durant heads for the net as Boston's Evan Fournier and Robert Williams III defend in the second quarter during Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on May 22, 2021 at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Nets general manager Sean Marks has taken his team from bottom dweller to odds-on title favorite in the span of only a couple of years, a feat that has him squarely in the mix for NBA Executive of the Year.
Marks signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019, signed Steve Nash to coach his Nets, traded for James Harden earlier this year, and even added a couple of veteran All-Stars in Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge (who has since retired due to a heart condition) to help pad their frontcourt depth.
But Marks wasn’t the first Nets GM to think big and boldly.
His predecessor, Billy King, assembled a Big Three of his own when he traded for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to pair with Deron Williams in addition to Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson in 2013.
As it turns out, that trade was made with the intent of landing a current Nets star, a recent report revealed.
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Nets Had Durant on Their Mind With 2013 Celtics Trade
Ahead of the June 22 release of his book Can’t Knock the Hustle, author Matt Sullivan took to Twitter to reveal a nugget about the 2013 mega-trade between the Nets and Celtics. It was Brooklyn’s long con, Sullivan said, to impress Durant ahead of free agency in 2016.
“The focus was Durant,” King told Sullivan. “It wasn’t LeBron, it was: Do EVERYTHING we can to put ourselves in position to get Durant…I was in a position where he saw me—and knew. You just make sure that, if you do everything right, they take notice.
“We had done a great job with the branding & opening, & if we can be a playoff team, we can get on national TV, & when it came time, we would be able to get in the conversation.”
Scoop for #Nets #Celtics fans, on Big 3s then + now. My book CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE has so much reporting that this footnote didn’t fit, but:
Turns out 2013 trade for Kevin Garnett @paulpierce34 + Terry was Brooklyn’s long con… to impress Kevin DURANT, in ’16 free agency (1/6)
Nothing panned out as envisioned, of course. The Nets’ 2013 superteam never reached the heights that King had hoped for, and the roster was quickly disassembled: Pierce was out in Brooklyn after only one season, and Garnett followed suit not long after.
And still, thanks to Marks, Durant found his way to Barclays Center — a few years after King hoped he’d arrive.
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Durant Excited to Be Back in Postseason
After Brooklyn’s 104-93 win in Game 1 of its first-round series against the Celtics, Durant delved into his excitement to be back in the postseason. After all, this was the 11-time All-Star’s first playoff game since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. Durant was forced to leave that game early when he ruptured his Achilles, an injury that wound up costing him the 2019-20 season.
“I mean it’s always great playing this time of year,” Durant said via House of Highlights. “You know, the intensity is the next level — it’s a different level from the regular season, so it felt great to be back out there amongst the best teams and best players in the league. Looking forward to game two.”
Durant had 32 points and 12 rebounds in Brooklyn’s Game 1 win.
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Nets’ Trade for Paul Pierce & Kevin Garnett Was Really About Kevin Durant: Report