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The pursuit to land Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant is expected to drag out through the summer as the Miami Heat, and other possible contenders, work to put together a competitive offer for the 12-time All-Star.
In the meantime, the 33-year-old power forward is killing time by starting a TikTok account on Friday, July 24, under the handle 2way3level, which is likely a reference to his NBA 2K22 build. Durant’s first post on the social media app quickly went viral as he appears to have no clue how TikTok works.
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After staring at the camera for six seconds, he asks, “Yo, how do I work this s***?” The brief video has racked up over 8.4 million views since it was posted on TikTok.
While Durant’s first post was reposted on Twitter and Instagram, many people overlooked the fact that the two-time Finals MVP made his TikTok profile picture a photo of Rick Ross rocking a Heat hat. Ross is one of Miami’s biggest celebrity fans, he got the logo tattooed on his face back in 2015.
Durant could be trolling fans with his profile picture or it could mean nothing at all. However, considering the timing of the creation of his TikTok account and his choice of photo, it’s turning some heads regardless.
Durant’s ‘Sparse’ Communication With the Nets Could Be Holding Up a Trade
GettyBig man Bam Adebayo defends Kevin Durant during a game between the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets.
Earlier this month, Bleacher Report’s Tim Daniels noted that Durant sweepstakes remain stagnant because “the market is sluggish to develop as teams reevaluate their rosters after the draft and the early stages of free agency. The action should pick up as training camp moves closer, though.”
On July 20, ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst offered another reason as to why it’s taking so long for a Durant trade to come to fruition, placing much of the blame on the Nets star and his lack of transparency with the team.
Windhorst said during an appearance on Get Up, “From what I understand, the trade talks involving Kevin Durant have slowed to a trickle. You can still get some Nets folks on the phone if you want to make an offer, but they are not aggressively, I am told, making outgoing calls.
“What I will say is nobody knows what Kevin Durant is thinking right now. His communication with teammates and others in the league has been sparse. I don’t even think that the Nets have a 100% understanding of why Kevin asked for a trade.”
“He spoke to the owner, Joe Tsai, and gave a reason, but I’m not sure the Nets are 100% on the understanding of it,” Windhorst continued. “I think the next step in this – barring a team’s change of heart to meet the Nets’ price, which I don’t see at this point on the calendar – I think we’re going to have to wait to hear from Kevin Durant about how open he is to running it back with the Nets. Here we go, as everybody breaks for summer, sitting and waiting for that to happen.”
Should the Heat Go Harder for Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell or Durant?
GettyThe Miami Heat are getting creative in their aggressive pursuit to land either Nets star Kevin Durant (R) or Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (L).
Miami doesn’t have enough cap space to sign another player (assuming team captain Udonis Haslem rejoins the team on a veteran’s minimum), which means the only way the Heat can boost their roster is through a trade.
While the Heat remains focused on Durant, ESPN’s NBA Insider Kevin Pelton recently urged Miami to dedicate all their time and energy to land Utah Jazz’s three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell instead.
“Durant turns 34 in September, which puts him in the same range as Miami starters Jimmy Butler (33 in September) and Kyle Lowry (36),” Pelton wrote. “By contrast, the 25-year-old Mitchell would reset the Heat’s timeline and align it with 24-year-old center Bam Adebayo. And if Miami doesn’t think the Nets will ultimately trade Durant, this might be its best chance to land a third star while Butler is in his late prime.”
Despite his age, Durant remains one of the best players in the NBA. Last season, the 6-foot-10 forward averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game, while shooting 51.8% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.
As for Mitchell, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game last season.
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