The Nets may not be done yet.
Moments after they traded the talented yet polarizing Kyrie Irving, many wondered what would change into of Kevin Durant.
Two days after Irving requested a trade, he was dealt on Sunday afternoon to the Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft picks, including an unprotected 2029 first-rounder.
With teams across the league waiting to see the Nets’ next move, Bleacher Report and TNT’s Chris Haynes reported that the Suns are “prepared to pursue” Durant should he be made available ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline.
Much of the 2022 NBA offseason and its inactivity was related to Durant’s previous trade request shortly before the start of free agency last summer. It, in effect, held up the league and was the bookend to an underwhelming Nets season, where they became the one team to get swept in your complete playoffs. It was also the primary of Durant’s four-year, $194 million contract extension signed the previous summer.
On the time, the Suns were on Durant’s list of preferred destinations, together with the Heat, and later, the Celtics.
Such a deal would likely should involve the reportedly long-unhappy DeAndre Ayton, who’s on the primary of a four-year deal and making about $31 million this yr, or Mikal Bridges, who can also be signed through 2026. Bridges and Ayton were the centerpieces of a proposed Durant trade package this past summer, in keeping with multiple reports.
The Suns are 29-26 and were in fifth place within the Western Conference entering Sunday, having won eight of their last 10 after falling to 21-24 on Jan. 16. The Nets have dropped to 32-20 and fourth within the Eastern Conference, and are awaiting the return of Durant, who suffered a sprained MCL on Jan. 8.
Unless, after all, he’s traded.
