NBA Hoops

Brooklyn Nets need to play hardball with Kevin Durant’s desired destinations of Miami Heat or Phoenix Suns

Brooklyn Nets need to play hardball with Kevin Durant's desired destinations of Miami Heat or Phoenix Suns

Here’s a novel idea for Sean Marks, the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, as he navigates Kevin Durant’s demand that the superstar be traded to some very specific teams: To hell with player power.

Say it nicer than that, of course. Use charm and professionalism in communicating to Durant’s business manager, Rich Kleiman, that they can all work together to find an amicable deal. Sing kumbaya together. Pretend the world is puppy dogs and rainbows if you must. Leak, as has already happened, that Marks and the Nets intend to work with Durant while trying to find the right return for Brooklyn.

Say what you must. The real task, though, is to push back on the temptation to even remotely care that Durant craves playing next for this team or that team, the Heat or the Suns or whatever group of contending teams catch his wayward eye. Durant was a part of the Nets power structure and a partner in trying to navigate the choppy waters of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Ben Simmons and a disappointing year.

Now he’s an asset, an all-time great player with four years — four! — left under contract. He is, in fact, perhaps the most valuable player ever on the trade market given those years, one who reportedly went around Marks, straight to Nets owner Joe Tsai, to demand an exit. Supposedly without communicating with the Nets front office all week.

He wants to play hardball?

No problem, Kevin. Here’s some hardball for you:

Β· The Heat, one of the team’s on his “wish list,” can’t trade Bam Adebayo to the Nets as long as Ben Simmons is on Brooklyn’s roster because no team can carry two players with the designated rookie extension. And no Bam has to equal no deal. This is hardball, and moving Simmons right now would be even more daunting then, say, the Lakers moving on from Westbrook. Plus, Bam/Tyler Herro/Duncan Robinson/picks isn’t enough, even if it was possible.

Β· The Suns potential offers — the other “wish list” team — also add up to an equally unappealing return for a player of Durant’s stature with so many years left under contract. First, a DeAndre Ayton sign-and-trade would hardcap the Nets. Second, even Ayton, Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges and draft picks that may have little value give that a Durant-Booker-aged-CP3 team probably ain’t coughing up lottery picks, even years form now.

Seriously. Why on earth would you want, basically, last year’s Phoenix Suns, but with Simmons swapped in…

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