Nets ‘Hope’ to Secure League’s Top Big Three Pairing Before Training Camp

Getty

Brooklyn Nets stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant look on during a playoff game against the Boston Celtics.

It has been an odd NBA offseason. Kevin Durant requested to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets just hours before the NBA free agency window opened on June 30. After that, the NBA has been in a bit of a holding pattern, waiting to see what happens in the Durant situation. Multiple NBA teams continue to inquire about what it will take to acquire the superstar forward from Brooklyn, but the same three teams remain at the top. While the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors have the pieces to trade for the 12-Time All-Star, they haven’t been able to get a deal done yet. Brooklyn is also noted to be hoping to negotiate a way to keep Durant in the New York borough. 

To help sweeten the chances of Durant returning to Kings County, the team is planning on bringing back his best friend in Kyrie Irving. Irving, who had a turbulent offseason with the Nets, was able to get in a ‘good place‘ with the franchise and is expected to be back. Brooklyn has also been linked to another coveted Durant teammate with the possibility of them adding Carmelo Anthony this offseason. Marc Stein wrote about the approach Brooklyn is taking in his latest Substack column. 

Nets Kevin Durant Approach Revealed

“Hope, they say, is not a strategy, but it appears to be the foundation of Brooklyn’s approach with Durant. League sources maintain that the Nets have not yet lowered their asking price in response to Durant’s trade demand and thus appear to be banking on the idea that there is still time for Durant to soften his trade-me stance and reengage with the franchise he is signed with for the next four seasons at $194 million. The Nets, as well as the rest of the league, thus remain in wait-and-see mode with regard to Durant’s willingness to report to training camp on time and whether he is prepared to make things more uncomfortable for the organization to encourage trade discussions,” Stein writes. 

There are multiple trades and free agent signings that are seemingly hinging on potential Durant trades, and with the September 26 training camp as a deadline, a decision may be coming soon. Brooklyn is hoping as well as negotiating with the star to bring him back. Can they do it? Durant lost trust in the direction of the organization and gave an ultimatum for the team to fire its general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash. Could the Nets bring Durant back without firing each of those? They certainly are hoping to. If they do they could be one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA. 

Ben Simmons Set to Return to Brooklyn

In the same article that Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Irving’s likely return to the Nets, new potential trade partners, and now that Ben Simmons is ready for training camp and has already been cleared for 3-on-3. 

“Simmons has been cleared for three-on-three basketball activities following back surgery in May, and he is on track to be cleared for full five-on-five activities in the coming weeks, league sources say. The Nets and Simmons expect him to be ready for training camp in late September,” Charania wrote. 

If Durant, Irving, and Simmons run it back in Brooklyn, they do have a team that could contend in the East again this year. They could become one of the best big three’s in the NBA if they were to play their first games together in the 2022-23 NBA season.