Shams Charania: Kevin Durant's future very much in the air

“Kyrie Irving, it appears, is going to find a new home and Kevin Durant has four years left on his contract…his future is very much right now in the air.” NBA Insider @ShamsCharania on the current situation with the Nets and stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Source: Twitter

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Kevin Durant still could stay with #Nets even if Kyrie Irving leaves nypost.com/2022/06/24/kev… via @nypostsports – 12:18 AM Steve Bulpett @SteveBHoop
IF Kevin Durant ever becomes available, and IF the Celtics tried to trade for him… IF…
You just know Brooklyn would be like… pic.twitter.com/VTRderlBPo – 12:03 AM Kevin Durant @KDTrey5
It’s a wings league… – 10:12 PM Joe Cowley @JCowleyHoops
Bulls twitter starting the draft night thinking KD was somehow becoming a Bull … and ending up with Dalen Terry … Silly Bulls fans … pic.twitter.com/iPPQ9S3MK4 – 10:06 PM Austin Krell @NBAKrell
ESPN comping the #1 pick to Michael Beasley and Ben Simmons before comping the #2 pick to Giannis and #3 to KD is a helluva turn. – 8:19 PM Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Kevin Durant changed the big man position in the NBA forever and a decade-plus later the OKC Thunder are collecting his disciples. – 8:16 PM Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
New BS Podcast: it’s PART ONE of NBA Draftapalooza featuring Kyrie/Nets drama, a Most Fun KD Trade Teams draft and my official decision on Paolo/Chet/Jabari. Taped w/ @Kevin O’Connor @Ryen Russillo @ChrisRyan77 at 3:15 PT.
open.spotify.com/episode/5mUekE… – 8:04 PM Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
On the Nets, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving: pic.twitter.com/xphBIP8LB3 – 7:44 PM Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Latest on the Brooklyn Nets, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to start the @Stadium 2022 NBA Draft Live Show: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1… – 7:31 PM Austin Krell @NBAKrell
The way the 2016-19 Rockets are talked about is nuts. Top 2 seeds in 3 straight years. Would’ve beat the KD Warriors, arguably the greatest team ever, had Chris Paul not gotten hurt, and then would’ve ostensibly gone on to win a title. “What did those Rockets teams win?” C’mon. – 7:13 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Deleted this tweet because I think there was a misconception that I’m saying that I personally wouldn’t offer guys like this for Durant. I probably would (though Barnes I’d hesitate on).
I’m saying teams tend to be much stingier about giving up young guys of this caliber. pic.twitter.com/jqE8S7kFpD – 7:13 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I have no idea what Kevin Durant will actually net in a trade if it comes to that.
I think he’s worth as much as basically any star ever traded. I don’t know how much power he’ll have to force a destination. I don’t know how fearful teams are of his age and flight risk status. – 6:47 PM Chris Herrington @ChrisHerrington
If you ranked all 29 teams (someone will do this if they haven’t already) in terms of most realistic Durant trade destinations, the Grizzlies are a lot closer to the top than the bottom. Still not all that realistic, but … – 6:21 PM Sean Deveney @SeanDeveney
The Nets were just hanging out with a young team that had improved by 14 wins in the spring of 2019 when Kyrie Irving and Durant told them, “Hey, you guys, get excited, we’re coming to play for you!”
Oh.
Lucky us. – 6:18 PM David Hardisty @clutchfans
I expect Nets to work this out with Kyrie/KD, but this year may be the only season they can struggle and be fine. This is #Rockets last year they expect to lose. Their pick will be high. They only have swap rights this year. BKN could finish #7 in the draft and still keep it. – 5:18 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Reports: Irving gives Nets list of potential destinations, Durant considering Nets’ future nba.nbcsports.com/2022/06/23/rep… – 5:05 PM StatMuse @statmuse
Nets wins in the last 4 seasons:
2019 — 42
*add Kyrie and KD
2020 — 35
2021 — 48
2022 — 44
They have only been a top 4 seed once in the Kyrie era. pic.twitter.com/BIKg8dpvNM – 5:04 PM BasketNews @BasketNews_com
Kyrie Irving has named 6 teams he would like to play for 👀
Kevin Durant is monitoring the Nets situation, which opens a window for Irving to find a new team via opt-in and trade
basketnews.com/news-174044-ky… – 4:58 PM Andrew Sharp @andrewsharp
Think the Wiz are kicking the tires on Kuzma, Rui and KCP for KD? I sure hope they are – 4:51 PM Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds
Trade machine: everything your team has for Kevin Durant.
This trade works! – 4:50 PM Anthony Puccio @APOOCH
I understand they’re in the middle of a negotiation battle, but let’s say they do lose KD and Kyrie — they fired Kenny Atkinson, his staff, fired Nash’s staff, traded away all their core pieces.
What’s next?
A rebuild with Nash leading a young core? – 4:42 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
For the record the Kevin Durant trade I would hope for as an objective basketball fan would be Memphis. – 4:37 PM The Ringer @ringernba
James Harden seeing Kevin Durant and Kyrie potentially on their way out of Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/BSDkjmqSxs – 4:34 PM Krishna Narsu @knarsu3
Kyrie getting traded to the Sixers and KD getting traded to the Warriors would be by far the funniest outcome – 4:31 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I think the Nets are going to figure this out. I think Durant, Kyrie and Simmons are gonna be in the opening day lineup.
But if they don’t, this immediately becomes one of the greatest disasters in roster-building history. To go from favorites to this in ONE YEAR is unheard of. – 4:29 PM Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
Kevin Durant is monitoring the Brooklyn Nets’ situation and considering options with his future. Kyrie Irving is set to leaving the Nets this summer and everything is going to change for the franchise. Nothing will be the same in Brooklyn #NetsWorld
sdna.gr/mpasket/978547… – 4:26 PM Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA
Could Kevin Durant be on the move this offseason?! The NBA is insane, man. – 4:21 PM Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
Intriguing leverage play here by Kyrie/KD to get Irving his max deal with the Nets. We will see if Sean Marks blinks first even though he’s holding most of the cards. Durant is signed through 2025-26 and Kyrie can’t go anywhere he wants to in free agency without Nets’ help. – 4:18 PM Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Sources: Kevin Durant is monitoring the Brooklyn Nets’ situation and considering options with his future.
This now opens the path for Kyrie Irving to proceed on finding a new home via opt-in and trade. – 4:07 PM StatMuse @statmuse
Most career points at each draft pick position:
#1 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
#2 — Kevin Durant
#3 — Michael Jordan
#4 — Russell Westbrook
#5 — Kevin Garnett
#6 — Adrian Dantley
#7 — Steph Curry
#8 — Robert Parish
#9 — Dirk Nowitzki
#10 — Paul Pierce pic.twitter.com/H9aKWPEa0Q – 1:05 PM Anthony Puccio @APOOCH
Hopped on ESPN Radio last night to discuss Kyrie Irving reaching Nets’ Impasse, Kevin Durant, and the repercussions that might come with it.
youtube.com/watch?v=Vbj46Y… – 10:39 AM Rylan Stiles @Rylan_Stiles
It’s draft day. Here is a fun Chet Holmgren interview on NBA Tik Tok admits he was a “bandwagon, big LeBron guy, Big KD guy.” More about him personally: pic.twitter.com/5p8usbU4U1 – 5:39 AM

More on this storyline

Rumblings that Kevin Durant would demand out of Brooklyn if Kyrie Irving were to leave the Nets was the biggest story Thursday night at the 2022 NBA Draft. Durant, however, reportedly hasn’t told the Nets he would ask for a trade, just a map of how they would plan to contend post-Irving. -via New York Post / June 24, 2022 But ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that’s not a forgone conclusion. “KD wanting to remain with the Nets is not necessarily contingent on if Kyrie Irving walks. That, if he walks, he wants to see what the roster could still look like, how it could be reshaped, how it can still be a championship contender,” he said. “ starting that new four-year max deal. This isn’t the transfer portal. You don’t get to say where you’d like to go. So if he decided and wanted and asked for a trade — which I’m told he’s not told the Nets he’s going to do or is ready to do — he’s probably not going to have a lot of say in where he goes. “So that has to be part of thinking if he does ask out of Brooklyn. But right now, I still think there’s a pathway for the Nets, for Kyrie Irving for Kevin Durant to find a way forward together. But it’s murky, and it’s uncertain. Listen, the future of this Nets organization very well is going to be determined here in the next several days to a week.” -via New York Post / June 24, 2022 Alex Schiffer: While Kevin Durant reportedly thinks over his options with the Nets, his agent/business manager, Rich Kleiman just walked onto the floor at Barclays Center. -via Twitter @Alex__Schiffer / June 23, 2022