Kevin Durant

The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly still interested in trading for All-Star forward Kevin Durant despite a "steep" asking price from the Brooklyn Nets.

According to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, the Nets are looking to get "an All-Star level player, rotation players and significant draft compensation" in exchange for Durant.

Winfield noted that the Pels could offer a trade that checks those boxes with the inclusion of a former All-Star in Brandon Ingram, plus Herbert Jones, Devonte' Graham, Jose Alvarado and draft picks acquired as part of previous trades with the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) reported in June that Durant's manager, Rich Kleiman, said KD had requested a trade out of Brooklyn.

Wojnarowski added that the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns were believed to be the top two teams on Durant's wish list.

While the expectation was that teams would be beating down the Nets' door with huge offers, that reportedly hasn't been the case.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst (h/t RealGM) reported last month that the Nets hadn't gotten any offers to their liking and actually prefer to keep Durant rather than trading him if possible.

The Nets aren't obligated to trade Durant since he is under contract through 2026, but Durant would have the option of forcing their hand by not reporting if he truly doesn't want to play in Brooklyn any longer.

If both parties agree that a trade is for the best, there may be no team in the NBA that is better equipped to put together a big offer for Durant than the Pels.

They are a trendy pick to take a big leap forward in 2022-23 after sneaking into the postseason last season thanks to a core of Ingram, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas.

New Orleans was 36-46 last season after Williamson missed the entire year because of an injury and McCollum not joining the team until a February deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, so there is a ton of room for improvement.

As currently constructed, the Pelicans should be a playoff team next season and have a chance to do some damage during the postseason as well, but Durant would instantly make them championship contenders.

The 33-year-old veteran is a 12-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, two-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP and one-time NBA MVP who continues to play at an elite level.

Although he was limited to 55 games last season because of a knee injury, Durant was fantastic, averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.1 three-pointers made.

The Pelicans are building something that could be special, but if they can get Durant for one of their stars, some supporting pieces and draft picks, it is a deal that would be worth making, as it would likely push them into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

Kyrie Irving reportedly also wants the Brooklyn Nets to part with both head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, following in the path of Kevin Durant.

"Kyrie Irving hates these guys," a source told Mark W. Sanchez and Josh Kosman of the New York Post. "He feels that Nash is terrible and Marks is bad."

The news comes after Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Monday that Durant recently reiterated his trade request, adding an ultimatum for the organization to choose either him or the duo of Nash and Marks.

Sanchez and Kosman confirmed the rumor, noting the 12-time All-Star "does not have faith" in the direction of the team.

Nets team governor Joe Tsai offered a vow of confidence to the staff after the latest news:

Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022

It could mean both Durant and Irving will have new homes by the start of the 2022-23 season, even if the trade market has been slow-moving since Durant's initial trade request June 30.

Irving already had an opportunity to leave this offseason but instead exercised his $36.5 million player option for 2022-23.

Though Irving had been seeking a new long-term deal with the organization, Charania reported there was "an impasse" between the two sides. ESPN's Brian Windhorst later reported there were additional factors that contributed to the Nets' hesitancy.

"It wasn't just about the [COVID-19] vaccine mandate," Windhorst said on Get Up. "It was about the way Kyrie Irving treated his teammates, about the way Kyrie Irving treated his coaches."

Irving was limited to just 29 regular-season games during the 2021-22 campaign because he did not get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Nets were disappointing as a whole, finishing with the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference before being swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Nash has been unable to lead the team to postseason success in his two seasons despite having proven weapons in Durant, Irving, James Harden and more.

Durant and Irving clearly put the blame on Nash and Marks, but they still might not get their wish of returning to Brooklyn with a change of leadership.

Brooklyn Nets team governor Joe Tsai appears to have called Kevin Durant's bluff.

"Our front office and coaching staff have my support," Tsai tweeted Monday. "We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets."

Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported earlier in the day that Durant "reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that he needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash."

Durant's ultimatum seemed to at least present the team with a path toward placating the 12-time All-Star. Tsai's public response left little doubt as to the organization's attitude toward that demand.

Now the ball is in Durant's court.

James Harden and Jimmy Butler showed how a star player can make a situation so toxic his team has little recourse but to acquiesce to a trade. Following the same blueprint may not be an option for Durant, though.

For one, the 6'10" forward is under contract for four more seasons, so he can't leverage the possibility of leaving as a free agent to force Brooklyn's hand.

Durant turns 34 in September as well. Is he prepared to potentially waste a year of his career in a standoff with his current team?

The Nets have almost nothing to lose at this point by playing hardball.

Trading Durant basically shuts their championship window for the foreseeable future, and they can't embark on a traditional rebuild because so much of their first-round draft capital is in the hands of the Houston Rockets. Even if he comes kicking and screaming, bringing KD back into the fold is the better outcome right now.

And at the end of the day, there's no guarantee firing Nash and Marks would leave the Nets any better off. Nothing would stop Durant from requesting a trade again next summer or even in the middle of the season if Brooklyn brought in a new coach and GM.

Under normal circumstances, you'd be willing to throw Nash and Marks under the bus if it meant getting to keep a player as good as Durant. But the way in which the Nets' superteam era has imploded changes the equation.

The jury is still out on Nash a bit, but Marks displayed his acumen by helping put together a roster of young stars and overlooked veterans that catapulted Brooklyn into the 2019 playoffs.

Marks has already rebuilt the Nets from the ground up, so he's exactly the guy you'd want leading the way forward in a post-Durant future.

Just when it started to feel like the NBA offseason was calming down, Kevin Durant dropped a big old spoon into the pot, stirred it, shook it up and dumped it out.

On Monday, The Athletic's Shams Charania broke the news that KD had issued an ultimatum to Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai:

In a meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai, Kevin Durant reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that Tsai needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash, sources say.

Story: https://t.co/W1voNf9MDC

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2022

In a follow-up, Charania added, "The meeting was described as transparent and professional, with a clear message: Keep me—or the GM and coach."

Well, OK then.

After just two seasons holding the reins, coach Steve Nash now finds himself on the wrong end of an ultimatum and facing news that's a far cry from what Durant said about him shortly after he was hired.

"His insight for the game, his communication, how he communicates the game of basketball is definitely going to help me as a player develop and it's going to help the rest of the team," Durant said on J.J. Redick's The Old Man and the Three podcast in 2020. "Every time I'm in the gym with him, I was always like a sponge. I'm looking forward to this, man."

The early reviews weren't as explicit or glowing for general manager Sean Marks, but Durant has reportedly had nice things to say about him over the years too.

Now, with a four-year extension recently kicking in for KD, he's sent the entire organization spiraling into what feels like the NBA's version of Marriage Story.

And it's hard to really wrap your head around why.

A generic "I don't like the direction of the team" feels like a surface-level complaint. And of course, we weren't in the meeting with Durant and Tsai. There was surely more said. But how exactly was Nash supposed to establish a direction that Durant and presumably Kyrie Irving were on board with when those two only appeared in 17 games together this season (and only 27 the year before that)?

And how could he have tailored the attack any more to the stars? Durant and Irving were both top 10 in the league in possessions used in isolation per game in 2021-22. Among those with at least 500 minutes, both were top 20 in usage percentage.

The two superstars ostensibly signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 to play—or, rather, hoop—together. And Nash allowed them to do that. Well, he allowed them to as often as he could.

Nash, of course, had nothing to do with the unavailability of both stars. It wasn't his fault that Durant appeared in only 90 games over the last two seasons. He didn't write the New York City mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine that Kyrie Irving chose not to comply with.

Shoot, maybe Durant actually did want more of a free-flowing, team-first offense like the one that led to his two Finals MVP nods with the Golden State Warriors. Again, we don't know that. There are details of the meeting with Tsai we'll probably never know. But even if that is the case, how was Nash supposed to implement such a system that requires months and years of cohesion with so many players in and out of the lineup?

And what about Marks? He cleared the books to allow Durant and Irving to sign together. He made room for their friend DeAndre Jordan, who was objectively worse than incumbent center Jarrett Allen. Coach Kenny Atkinson's desire to start the younger, better 5 reportedly led to "internal strife," and he was eventually fired. Marks also traded for James Harden (another move Durant wanted), and we all know how that turned out.

If the complaint is, "Get rid of these guys because we need people in leadership who'll stop giving us what we want," fine. It's just hard to imagine that's the complaint.

And it isn't much easier to see their departures suddenly appeasing Durant.

He was a king with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but that didn't prevent him from signing with the 73-win Warriors. He won two Finals MVPs with Golden State, but that didn't keep him from orchestrating a team-up with Kyrie in Brooklyn. He's seemingly had carte blanche with the Nets, but here we are discussing a trade request from someone with four years left on his contract.

Combine that history with his age (34 in September) and a ruptured Achilles in 2019, and Tsai should have little confidence in siding with Durant in this either-or situation the star has created.

It isn't a no-brainer either way, though.

Injuries aside, Durant averaged 29.9 points, 6.4 assists and 2.1 threes with a true shooting percentage 6.8 points above the league average in 2021-22.

When he was on the floor, the Nets had a point differential around that of a 58-win team, compared to one around that of a 27-win team when he wasn't.

If he can play like that for a couple more years, Marks has already surrounded him with a contending-caliber roster.

• Kyrie Irving, Patty Mills
• Seth Curry, Cam Thomas
• Joe Harris, T.J. Warren, Royce O'Neale
• Kevin Durant
• Ben Simmons, Nicolas Claxton

Ditching Marks and Nash and then installing a new regime that is more aligned with KD's preferred "direction" could very well lead to a title.

But in today's NBA, championships are never a given. Even that 73-win Warriors team lost in the Finals. And completely upending the front office and bench for a post-prime player who's seemingly never content feels like the bigger risk here.

Tsai and the Nets would be wise to re-engage with potential Durant suitors now. See if they might be willing to meet what Charania described as a "sky-high threshold" for acquiring him. If those suitors don't want to pay the price, Brooklyn can simply say, "Fine, KD has given us a path to keeping him, and we're going to take it."

That may sound a little disingenuous if it's coming from Marks, whose own job is on the chopping block in that scenario, but the Nets need to exercise any hint of leverage they might have now.

And they should start with the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat.

According to Charania, those three "remain the most significant candidates to acquire Durant."

After getting some time to sit on things, is Boston now willing to part with both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart? Would Toronto possibly relent on Scottie Barnes being untouchable?

The answer could very well be no on both fronts, but Brooklyn has to at least ask.

If the Nets weren't already doing this, it's time to exhaust every possible avenue for a deal. If nothing acceptable is out there, maybe you give in to Durant and clean house. You just have to make sure there wasn't a better way before you take that path.

At any moment after that, KD might just ask out again.

Ben Simmons reportedly didn't appreciate it when his Brooklyn Nets teammates asked him if he planned on playing during the team's first-round exit against the Boston Celtics.

"They're having a team chat before Game 4, thinking he's going to play against the Celtics, and from what I'm told, Ben just left the chat," Ric Bucher told Colin Cowherd on FS1's The Herd last week (8:30 mark). "They asked him, 'Are you going to play?' Ben left the chat. Like he didn't even answer the question. Just left the chat."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsNtcMllp0o

The past year for Simmons has been one long saga.

The longtime Philadelphia 76ers point guard requested a trade from the team last summer and, after briefly reporting to practice in October, proceeded to stay away from the team into the regular season.

Simmons cited mental health issues as the reason for his absence, and the Sixers and Simmons' camp battled over the team's decision to withhold his salary and fine him during that time.

Ultimately, he was traded to the Nets in the deal that sent James Harden back to Philadelphia.

But Simmons never played for Brooklyn either, reportedly injuring his back while working on his conditioning over the winter.

As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in May, "Simmons had planned to return for Game 4 of the Nets' Eastern Conference first-round series against the Celtics, but a week-plus of pain-free days ended with pain soreness on the eve of Brooklyn's elimination."

Simmons ultimately had a microdiscectomy surgery to "address pain located in a herniated disk in his lower back," per Woj. That surgery was expected to include three to four months of rehabilitation.

When healthy, Simmons was one of the best and most versatile perimeter defenders in the NBA, adding solid transition playmaking and elite athleticism. But he never developed a consistent jump shot and was often criticized for his lack of offensive aggressiveness in Philadelphia, which came to a head when he attempted just four shots in the team's Game 7 loss against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, infamously passing up a wide-open dunk in the fourth quarter of that game.

When Simmons was traded to Brooklyn, there was excitement that his defense and playmaking would fit well with a pair of offensive juggernauts in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. With the uncertainty of that pair's future in Brooklyn coming to a head this summer, however, it's now possible that the trio will never actually take the court together.

So if, or when, Simmons does play for the Nets this season, there are very real questions about which teammates will even be on the group chat.

The Kevin Durant saga took a juicy new turn Monday.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that Durant met with Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai over the weekend and maintained that he either wants to be traded or wants the Nets to fire general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash.

Shams added that Durant "does not have faith in the team's direction."

Twitter was on fire after Charania's report broke:

KD every time the NBA offseason slows down... https://t.co/Qc7cnpBI5T

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 8, 2022

the moment he knew https://t.co/W4zKZCLmel pic.twitter.com/LijHkKnlrj

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) August 8, 2022

They fired a good coach for a coach we aren't sure about because the good coach wouldn't play the bad center over the good center who is now an all star and now they're demanding to fire the gm who traded the good center for pennies and now I have a headache https://t.co/FJ76wT3irV

— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) August 8, 2022

https://twitter.com/basketballtalk/status/1556711627566858240

If you're a GM you always trade for Kevin Durant if given the opportunity.

That being said, it is funny to trade for a guy who might tell the owner it's you or him not soon after.

— Doug Norrie (@DougNorrie) August 8, 2022

kevin durant looking at the entire nets organization: pic.twitter.com/OLt7Ogho2b

— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) August 8, 2022

If that is all it takes to keep the 1B best basketball player of the last decade+ on your roster.... https://t.co/2GapPIDWgc

— Kenjac (@JackKennedy) August 8, 2022

The question is how this saga plays out next.

The likelihood is that the Nets will ultimately trade both Durant and Kyrie Irving. It's hard to imagine Tsai firing his general manager and head coach at the behest of Durant.

Until then, this showdown could potentially drag on for months.

Kevin Durant has apparently had enough of playing for Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Durant met with Nets governor Joe Tsai and said the team needs to choose between either trading him or firing the combination of Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

What's more, the future Hall of Famer made it clear he does not believe in the direction the team is headed.

Charania reported the Saturday meeting was "transparent and professional," and Brooklyn has "direct knowledge of the reasons behind Durant's request" and knows he will remain "resolute" in his desire for a trade.

Tsai took to Twitter on Monday to show support for the Nets' coaching staff and front office:

Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022

This latest development causes more uncertainty for a Nets franchise that seemed to have built a championship contender on paper but has been unable to convert that potential on the floor.

Last season started with Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden forming a superstar trio, but Irving did not play for the majority of the season because he remained unvaccinated against COVID-19. What's more, Harden was eventually traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that brought in Ben Simmons, who didn't play a single game last season.

The journey ended in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics and an offseason of more question marks with Irving opting into his player option for 2022-23 with free agency eventually looming and the Durant situation.

If Durant did stay, he could form something of a Big Three with Irving and Simmons to go along with a solid supporting cast that includes Royce O'Neale, T.J. Warren, Patty Mills, Nic Claxton and Joe Harris.

Yet the primary star of that group seemingly doesn't want to take the court for Nash, who has been Brooklyn's head coach since the 2020-21 campaign when KD arrived.

Of note, the perception Durant picked Nash to be the team's head coach in 2020 is "inaccurate," according to Ian Begley of SNY. Begley noted Nash was Marks' choice.

This is also a change in direction from public comments Durant made in April:

Kevin Durant gives his vote of confidence in having Steve Nash remain as the Nets' head coach:

"Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last 2 years" pic.twitter.com/OM07pHojxo

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) April 26, 2022

Trading Durant has been anything but easy, as Charania reported potential suitors have been unwilling to meet Brooklyn's "sky-high threshold for the return the franchise wants." Charania listed the Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat as "the most significant candidates" to pull off such a trade, but there is still work to be done.

There are even some question marks about what version of Durant teams will get as he plays out the remainder of his contract that expires after the 2025-26 season.

Yes, he is an all-time great with two championships, two NBA Finals MVP awards, a league MVP, four scoring titles, 10 All-NBA selections and 12 All-Star nods on his resume, but he turns 34 years old in September and played just 35 games in 2020-21 and 55 games last season after sitting out the 2019-20 campaign to recover from an Achilles injury.

Durability is a real concern, especially as he ages, and figures to be something potential suitors weigh when deciding how much to offer in any trade package.

Brooklyn being put in a situation where it has to choose either a star player or the combination of head coach and general manager may also cut into the team's leverage in any negotiations as it looks to resolve some of the uncertainty surrounding the franchise before the season starts.

Jayson Tatum has heard the rumors that President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has been cooking up trade offers for Kevin Durant.

The Boston Celtics star is staying out of it.

"The cool part about his job is Brad don't tell me how to do my job anymore. You not the coach," Tatum told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. "He lets me do my thing. I let him do his thing. In all honesty, that's his decision and that's his job."

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the Celtics offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Durant, who requested a trade in June. The Nets countered by asking for Brown, Marcus Smart and multiple future draft picks, an offer Boston declined.

Durant trade negotiations have moved at a glacial pace, as Brooklyn seeks to reap a historic trade haul for the 12-time All-Star. It's unclear if the Celtics—or any team, for that matter—remain active in talks with the Nets. Mum has been the word as the status quo moves forward during what is typically a quiet period in the NBA.

Stevens is heading into his second season running the Celtics' basketball operations. His first year was an unequivocal success, with Boston making its first Finals run in more than a decade and first-year coach Ime Udoka appearing to be the real deal.

The Celtics have already been active this offseason in improving the roster, trading for Malcolm Brogdon and signing Danilo Gallinari. It's arguable they're already the favorites to repeat as Eastern Conference champions.

That said, if Stevens learned anything from predecessor Danny Ainge, it's to never stay stagnant and assume the same results will follow. Exploring a trade for Durant—even if it means giving up Brown—is smart business. They're two players on completely different stratospheres; Durant raises the ceiling on title contention.

If Stevens is unable to pull off a Durant deal, however, it's fair to wonder how the rumors will impact Brown's relationship with the franchise. The 25-year-old has already seen his name bandied about in talks for Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and now Durant. At some point, there's likely going to be a period where Brown gets tired of the rumors and wants to take his future into his own hands.

Suffice it to say the rest of this summer will involve navigating those precarious waters.

Kevin Durant requested a trade a little over one month ago, but the superstar still remains with the Brooklyn Nets as we inch closer to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, and there's now "pessimism" that a deal will get done in the "near future," according to SNY's Ian Begley.

Some of the pessimism comes from the fact that franchises have no interest in serving as a third or fourth team to help facilitate a trade, according to Begley.

"No one wants to help [Brooklyn get a deal done]," one team said.

Begley added that a source told him late last month that things with the Nets and Durant were in a "holding pattern."

There have been a number of reported trade offers for the four-time scoring champion, but none that have met the Nets' massive asking price. ESPN's Brian Windhorst (h/t Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston) reported on July 2 that Brooklyn wants "a young star player" and "at least three first-round draft picks" in exchange for the veteran.

Durant reportedly prefers to be moved to the Phoenix Suns or Miami Heat. However, neither franchise has been willing to completely blow up their current rosters, nor their future, to acquire the 33-year-old.

The Celtics offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets in exchange for Durant, according to The Athletics Shams Charania, but the offer was rejected and Brooklyn asked Boston to also include Marcus Smart, draft picks and another rotation player to their package.

The Nets also offered Durant to the Timberwolves in exchange for Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Edwards and four future draft picks, according to NBA insiders Chris Haynes and Vincent Goodwill, but Minnesota turned it down.

Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported last month that the Nets were in "no rush" to deal Durant. So, at this point, it seems like he could begin the 2022-23 campaign in Brooklyn. Whether or not he plays for the Nets is another story.

Durant has spent the last two seasons with the Nets alongside Kyrie Irving, and the duo has yet to lead the franchise to the NBA Finals or Eastern Conference Finals. The Nets fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 semifinals and were swept by the Celtics in the 2022 first round.

Despite the lack of postseason success, Durant has still played well over the last two years. In 2021-22, he averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 55 games while shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and 38.3 percent from deep.

There's clearly no shortage of suitors for the two-time NBA champion. If he can't come to a reconciliation with the Nets, the franchise might have to lower its asking price in order to move him.