Getty Head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs and Jamal Crawford #11 of the Los Angeles Clippers
The summer of 2022 will likely forever be remembered by NBA fans as the one Kyrie Irving’s contract negotiations and Kevin Durant’s trade request with the Brooklyn Nets took over the proceedings of the NBA offseason. Even if a deal for Durant doesn’t get done, a seemingly record amount of trade rumors flooded in for Durant and have now continued for over a month. Recently, the potential of Durant returning to Brooklyn for the 2022-23 NBA season seems to be growing.
Durant is supposed to meet with Nets owner Joe Tsai by the end of the week. Following their meeting, there will finally be some clarity in the Kevin Durant trade situation. What team the 12-time All-Star will play for next season remains up for debate, but recently former Net (one game) and NBA player Jamal Crawford recently spoke about a team he hopes Durant plays for in the future.
Jamal Crawford on Kevin Durant Returning to Seattle
For years fans have been calling for the NBA to return to Seattle with the Supersonics, who Durant was drafted by. Seattle and Las Vegas remain at the top of the list of possible NBA expansion teams, and if the NBA were to return to Seattle, Seattle native Jamal Crawford hopes there can be a reunion with the Sonics and KD. He noted how the city would feel about the idea of a Durant return.
“The city would be ecstatic. It’d be unbelievable. Not only was he on the team when they left us, but he was going to be the bridge to kinda keep us here,” Crawford said.
Jamal Crawford shares how Seattle would react if @KDTrey5 returned for 1 season before retiring then become an owner:
“Like they would be over the moon, & I think he would do an unbelievable job,”says @JCrossover.
Crawford also mentioned that Durant could have a great future in Seattle beyond just playing.
“You get a player of this magnitude in your hometown who goes on to be the best player in the world and he comes back and says, ‘You know what, I am going to play another year here and then go into ownership’, they would be over the moon. I think Kevin is a very very bright and smart guy and his basketball intelligence, how to put teams together, how to navigate certain things, his experiences, what worked, what didn’t work, what players do we need, all that stuff that you think about, I think he’d be phenomenal,” Crawford continued.
Durant played one season in Seattle before the team was moved to Oklahoma City and renamed to being the Thunder. In his rookie year, Durant averaged 20 points and 4 rebounds per game.
LeBron James Also Has Eyes on Ownership
Durant isn’t the only player being linked to NBA ownership. LeBron James also has been outspoken about his desire to own an NBA franchise.
“I wanna own a team,” James shared in a clip from his HBO television show The Shop that circulated on social media on Thursday. “I want a team in Vegas.”
The newly announced billionaire has built an empire outside of basketball and has his eyes set on owning an NBA team, just as Dwyane Wade became a part owner of the Utah Jazz. However, LeBron seems to want a bigger role than a minority owner, and it isn’t outside of the realm of possibilities for the billionaire.