Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during the first half of the Eastern Conference 2022 Play-In Tournament against the Cleveland Cavaliers
If you would have said in July that the Brooklyn Nets’ official Twitter account would be sharing photos of Kevin Durant in the training facility high-fiving teammates and with a smile on his face it would be hard to believe. Now, fans look at it with excitement. After a June 30 trade request, Durant spent a majority of the summer enthralled in trade rumors. Ultimately, no trade occurred and the seriousness of the Brooklyn Nets in trade negotiations has been questioned after they sought a historic trade package in return for their superstar forward. Durant rescinded his request to be traded on August 23 following a meeting with Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, Sean Marks, and Steve Nash.
Following Durant rescinding his request the faith in the Nets upcoming season started to build. The team had sneaky good acquisitions with Royce O’Neale and TJ Warren as well as securing key rotation players like Patty Mills and Nic Claxton. All of which will team up with the core that Brooklyn didn’t get to see last season but is excited to see debut this season. The Nets have a lot of hope for their big three of Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons, and look forward to seeing their debut in the season ahead. With training camp quickly approaching, posts from the Nets Twitter account quickly went viral with the smiling Durant returning to the Nets training facility.
New week, same grind.
Nets Send Message with Viral Social Media Post
If you were scrolling Twitter on Monday evening, you might have been surprised to see a post from the Nets verified Twitter account with a smiling KD in Nets apparel at the Nets’ HSS Training Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The post was followed up with photos of Durant with giving handshakes and in good spirits with his Nets teammates.
A quick scroll of the comment section, you can feel the almost collective sigh of relief from Nets fans about how refreshing it is to see new pictures of Durant in Brooklyn after the odds of his return seemed thin at a time this offseason.
It’s hard to tell if this is the first time that Durant is back in the Nets’ Brooklyn training facility, but based on the post, it is likely the first time that a Nets photographer was on hand and together, they created a Kodak moment and one to feed NBA Twitter with more Kevin Durant talk after a quiet few weeks.
NBA Executive Rules Out Midseason Kevin Durant Trade
Despite Kevin Durant committing to return to the Nets this offseason, NBA analyst Ric Bucher quoted a league GM that believed the Nets may still shop Durant at the NBA trade deadline. Heavy spoke to another NBA executive to see if he believed that Durant may be available at February’s deadline.
“Not at the deadline, no. Maybe Kyrie because of his contract, he is going to be a free agent. So if the year is a disappointment early on, then yes, you would at least have to explore the trade market on Kyrie.” the Eastern Conference Executive told Heavy when asked about the possibility of Durant being shopped at the deadline. “You won’t get good value because of all the baggage Kyrie has and because it would probably be a short-term rental. We’ll see how it goes with the Lakers but if they have a good year and feel like they’re just a Kyrie away from contending next year, they’ll be in a position to get him next summer. So that drags down his trade value.”
After endless rumors, it feels like fans can finally count on Durant to be in Brooklyn for the duration of the season and possibly even his contract with the Nets.
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Nets Send Strong Message on Kevin Durant Ahead of Next Season