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Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets will head to training camp this month as they prepare to open the season at home against Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans on October 21. When they do, the Nets star will unveil the 15th editon of his shoe with Nike, the KD 15.
On September 4th, Durant’s company “Boardroom” announced that for one of the editions of the KD 15, he would team with famed producers Boi-1da, Cardo & 9th Wonder for Nike KD15 “Producer Pack.”
After the announcement, Durant thanked producers for collaborating with him on the project.
My brothers [Cardo], [9th Wonder], and Boi-1da, always show up when called upon,” Durant tweeted on September 4. “This is no different, I appreciate it, fellas. Producer Pack Vol.1 on the KD 15s!! Who should be next?”
The Nets wanted to ink their star guard Kyrie Irving to an extension last summer, but his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccination allowed him to play just 29 games last summer and stalled talks of a new deal between the two sides.
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Nike May End Relationship With Kyrie Irving
The repercussions of Irving’s absences are starting to extend beyond the court. ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported in May that because of ‘uncertainty’ surrounding the Nets star’s future, Nike is not likely to extend his current endorsement deal.
“Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has long had one of Nike’s most popular and profitable signature basketball shoes, but uncertainties surrounding his NBA future have left the company unlikely to extend him to a similar signature deal beyond the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN,” Wojnarowski writes per ESPN.
“Irving has a new edition of his shoe set to debut in the fall, but that is expected to be the final year of a lucrative signature series that he has had with Nike since 2014, sources said.”
Nets Drama Over as Durant Prepares for Revenge Season
Durant will enter his 15th NBA season after an up-and-down offseason. For those who may be tardy to the party, the 12-time All-Star requested a trade from the Nets on June 30, before the NBA free agency period began.
The Nets initially agreed to honor his trade demand but insisted they would not move him unless they received a haul substantial enough for a player of his caliber.
After multiple trade discussions that essentially went nowhere, Durant and the Nets agreed to move forward with their partnership as he will return to this franchise to start the first season of a 4-year, $198 million deal.
Now he enters the 2023 season facing perhaps the most pressure he has since his first season with the Golden State Warriors. After getting swept by the defending NBA Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, and the debut of 3-time All-Star Ben Simmons looming, along with his co-star Kyrie Irving there will be a lot of pressure on the Nets to deliver the goods.
Perhaps, even more, pressure will be applied to Durant after the Warriors captured the NBA title without his services last season, and he has yet to win a title outside of Golden State. It will be interesting to see if he can deliver this season.
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