Getty Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns.
The Brooklyn Nets have seemingly put all of the drama that plagued this offseason between Kyrie Irving ready to jump ship and Kevin Durant requesting a trade.
Durant has taken back his trade request and Irving has picked up his player option for the next season, which means the core of the roster will be running it back for at least another year barring a major trade between now and the trade deadline.
Despite putting the trade drama behind him, Durant will likely have a large shadow looming over him as he wanted both Sean Marks and Steve Nash fired if he was going to come back, but neither of those things happened.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed that this might not all be behind Durant.
Windhorst Drops the News
“I’m not even 100% sure that Kevin Durant is gonna keep that trade demand in the closet.” – @WindhorstESPN
(h/t @_Talkin_NBA)
Speaking on the September 12 episode of NBA Today, Windhorst put it bluntly that he doesn’t believe all of offseason drama is gone for good.
“Quite frankly, I’m not even 100% sure that Kevin Durant is gonna keep that trade demand in the closet,” he said when asked about championship contenders and Durant.
He argues the Nets aren’t a guarantee to keep the roster together, and if the team gets off to a slow start out of the gate, he thinks the trade request could surface again.
It’s tough to say because nobody has a good grasp on what’s going on within the Nets organization. Durant is one of the most active players on Twitter, but he’s also one of the most mysterious at the same time.
The Nets will just have to hope himself, Irving and Ben Simmons remain on the same page all season because Brooklyn is certainly built to compete for a championship.
Players Returning From Injuries
As part of the James Harden deal that saw the star guard shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets received Ben Simmons. Simmons never suited up for the Nets, but all expectations are that he’ll be ready to go by the start of the season.
Another player who was sorely missed last season, Joe Harris, will be ready to go this year too. Harris will be an excellent fit playing alongside Durant, Irving and Simmons.
“He’s doing great. He’s great. He’s 100 percent. He’s in a great place,” Harris’ agent told the New York Post. “He’s healthy. He’s in a great place. He’s ready to go for sure.”
Basically, the only thing that’s looming over the Nets is whether or not their star players want to stay in town. Irving is always a wild card, and with just one year remaining on his deal, he might even be a player that’s involved in trade talks before the deadline depending on what the team’s record is.
For Durant, he has four years left on his deal, but he’s already requested one trade, so there’s no guarantee he won’t just do it again until he’s shipped off. Nets fans will have a lot to pay attention to in the upcoming season, so let’s just hope things don’t go off the rails too soon.