Kevin Durant

It appears the relationship between James Harden and Kevin Durant has been repaired.

The former two-time teammates were seen partying together at a Travis Scott concert earlier this month, a moment that sent social media buzzing about a potential Durant-Harden reunion in Philadelphia.

The Ringer's Bill Simmons said the viral moment came after an "all weekend" hang session that led to Durant considering the Sixers as a potential destination.

"KD and Harden, this is what I heard: They don’t talk after the trade. They basically go radio silent on each other. They run into each other. They hang out all weekend. And by the end of the weekend, KD is sniffing around on Philly," Simmons said on his podcast.

While there may be some level of interest from Durant—and likely from the Sixers— Philadelphia has almost no chance of ultimately pulling off a trade.

The Sixers' best offer would include Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle. Philadelphia has no future first-round picks to offer until 2029 due to the Stepien Rule, though the offer could include some pick swaps.

The Boston Celtics already topped the Sixers' offer by making Jaylen Brown available. No matter how highly Maxey's long-term value is viewed, Brown has already proven himself to be an All-Star capable of being the second-best player on a Finals contender. Brown is the trump card that every other team needs to beat, and the Sixers can't do it.

Durant could attempt to leverage the situation to get his way to Philadelphia, but the Nets have shown they're willing to drag things out as long as it takes to get an offer they like. It's not often you see a team owner publicly say his organization won't be leveraged by a player. Brooklyn has Durant under contract for four more seasons; the team has every right to play hardball.

In a nutshell: Kevin Durant's only games in Philadelphia next season will be as a visitor. There will be no reunion.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets were among the many teams to call the Brooklyn Nets about Kevin Durant, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Both teams wanted to "gauge the price tag" on the 12-time All-Star in June and early July, but Charania noted that "none of those conversations gained much traction."

The Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks also reportedly contacted the Nets, although there weren't advanced talks in any case.

Durant initially requested a trade from the Nets in June, and Charania reported he reiterated the request earlier this month. The forward gave team governor Joe Tsai an ultimatum to choose between him and head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

The Nets have still been deliberate in their trade talks, clearly not willing to part with the superstar for less than his fair-market value.

Injuries limited Durant to just 55 games last season, but his 29.9 points per game tied for third in the NBA. The four-time scoring champion can still clearly make an impact when on the court and could help a team get over the top toward a championship.

The Bucks already have a title with their current core, but last season's run ended in a second-round, seven-game series loss to the Boston Celtics. With Khris Middleton sidelined by an injury, it put a lot of pressure on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averaged 33.9 points per game in the series. Jrue Holiday (21.0 ppg) was the only other player within 20 points of Giannis' scoring average.

Adding Durant would give the team another offensive weapon and make the Bucks nearly impossible to defend.

It would be a similar case with the Nuggets, pairing Durant with two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Denver lost in the first round last year despite having one of the top individual players in the game, but adding another go-to option would help the squad contend in the West.

It's clear both teams would have to be aggressive in their offers in order to complete a deal with the Nets.

The Phoenix Suns appear to be trailing in the race for Kevin Durant.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Monday that the Suns' offer of Mikal Bridges and a "handful" of future draft picks has "not picked up any steam" with around a month remaining before training camps open.

The Suns appear to be a distant contender for Durant, as the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat remain engaged in talks with the Brooklyn Nets.

In the days following Durant's June trade request, Phoenix appeared to be the favorite to land the 12-time All-Star. Armed with Bridges, Deandre Ayton, Cameron Johnson and several future first-round picks, the Suns seemingly had a palatable offer as well.

That all changed when Ayton signed an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers on July 14. While the Suns matched the four-year, $133 million offer to retain Ayton, that move took him out of any potential Durant trade offers. Ayton cannot be traded for a full year without his permission, and can't be traded until Jan. 15 at the earliest.

With no other realistic offers on the table—the Suns aren't trading Chris Paul or Devin Booker—Phoenix seemed to bow out of the race for the time being.

Charania's report only confirms what we all essentially knew as soon as Ayton signed that offer sheet from Indiana.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving took part in a star-studded workout Saturday as their futures with the Brooklyn Nets continue to hang in the balance.

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young posted photos from the session, which also featured Miami Heat forward Victor Oladipo and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert, on Instagram.

Durant requested a trade from the Nets in late June, but there has been little progress toward a blockbuster deal ahead of the 2022-23 season.

That's reportedly not because of a lack of interest but rather Brooklyn's sky-high asking price after the Utah Jazz acquired a package that included four first-round draft picks and a pick swap for center Rudy Gobert.

While Gobert is one of the league's best defenders, he's also an old-school center in a modern NBA mostly dominated by wings, guards and versatile bigs. So, that trade set the bar for a KD deal at an extraordinarily high level.

With rival teams so far hesitant to meet the Nets' demands, the front office may be looking to keep the band together despite a drama-filled 2021-22 campaign.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Thursday (via HoopsHype) that Durant's "level of buy-in" remains in the biggest question mark.

"But right now, I think the Nets want to run this team back, and they're hoping that Kevin Durant agrees," Windhorst said. "The way that they are conducting trade talks, and the prices that they are asking, has teams out there thinking they don't really want to trade Kevin Durant anyway."

Irving's future is heavily reliant on Durant's. If KD is moved, it seems like there's a strong chance the seven-time All-Star point guard will also leave Brooklyn following a summer wherein he's been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers.

So, the Nets hold the keys to just how chaotic the remainder of the offseason will be.

Brooklyn will open the regular season Oct. 19 when it hosts the New Orleans Pelicans. How its starting lineup will look remains a mystery as KD and Kyrie continue to get in their offseason work.

Carmelo Anthony has reportedly emerged as a potential free-agent target for the Brooklyn Nets if the franchise retains Kevin Durant, who requested a trade in late June.

"There has been some talk about them signing Carmelo Anthony, maybe as a nod to Kevin Durant, but obviously that has not gotten anywhere, at least not yet," an unnamed NBA executive told Heavy's Sean Deveney.

Melo, a 10-time All-Star forward, spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers after previous stops with the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.

No team has more questions to answer before the 2022-23 season tips off in October than the Nets.

It starts with Durant, who could significantly shift the NBA's balance of power if traded to a ready-made championship contender like the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat.

His exit from Brooklyn would likely jumpstart a chain of events that may ultimately be followed by the departures of Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons if the front office decides to embark on an arduous rebuilding process.

If Durant stays, however, the Nets' focus probably shifts toward all-in moves to hunt a title.

Anthony could fit into those plans following his development into a reliable role player in recent years with the Lakers and Blazers.

It took a while for the 2013 NBA scoring champion to transition into a lesser offensive role, including failed stints with the Thunder and Rockets, but he's found a comfort zone typically playing as a stretch 4 after starting his career on the wing.

The 38-year-old New York City native averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 three-pointers across 69 appearances for L.A. last season. He shot 44.1 percent from the field, including 37.5 percent on threes, and 83 percent from the free-throw line.

A small-ball lineup of Irving, Durant, Anthony, Seth Curry and Joe Harris would be quite lethal offensively, though there would be defensive concerns.

All told, the Nets hold the key to the remainder of the NBA offseason, which has basically ground to a halt since Durant's trade request. Either that domino needs to fall or he must confirm his intention to return before the last flurry of moves take place.

Anthony will be part of that final wave of signings, and he should be a solid secondary contributor whether he lands in Brooklyn or elsewhere.

An anonymous NBA executive reportedly said recently that they would be selective over who they would trade reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes for if they were in control of the Toronto Raptors.

Speaking Friday on Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective (h/t HoopsHype), ESPN's Tim MacMahon said an executive who he respects told him they would trade Barnes to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant, but not to the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell.

Durant and Mitchell are viewed as the top two players on the NBA trade block currently, and the Raptors may have enough ammunition to trade for one of them if they so choose.

Durant signed a four-year contract extension with the Nets last year, but his business manager, Rich Kleiman, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) in June that he had requested a trade.

Then, after the Jazz traded All-Star center Rudy Gobert in July, Wojnarowski reported that Utah was willing to listen to offers for its three-time All-Star guard in Mitchell.

Neither Durant nor Mitchell has been moved yet, presumably due to high asking prices that may have been exacerbated by the Jazz getting four first-round picks and several players for Gobert.

The Raptors have been linked to Durant more so than Mitchell, but Wojnarowski reported last month that they considered Barnes a "non-starter" in a trade for KD.

Barnes, 21, was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft out of Florida State. He made an instant impact for the Raptors, averaging 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 74 contests as a rookie while shooting a strong 49.2 percent from the field.

By adding Barnes to a core that included Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr., the Raptors reached the playoffs with a 48-34 record last season, improving significantly on the 27-45 mark they posted one year earlier.

While trading the reigning Rookie of the Year and a player with perennial All-Star potential in Barnes is a worrisome proposition, Durant could prove to be the piece Toronto needs to get into championship contention.

While Durant is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, the 33-year-old veteran is coming off a hugely productive season that saw him average 29.9 points per game.

KD also boasts one of the most impressive resumes of anyone in the league with 12 All-Star selections, four scoring titles, two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVP awards and one NBA MVP award.

Trading for Durant would perhaps be akin to when the Raptors acquired Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs for a package headlined by DeMar DeRozan in 2018.

Leonard only stayed with the Raptors for one season before signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency, but he led them to their first NBA title and was named NBA Finals MVP.

Mitchell has great potential as a scorer and is just 25 years of age, but the Jazz haven't made it past the second round of the playoffs during his tenure, so he doesn't necessarily carry the same type of reward that a trade for Durant would.

Of course, the Raptors could stand pat and be players in the Eastern Conference as their young players like Barnes continue to improve, but Durant may be the key to vying for a championship immediately.

The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics reportedly haven't had any serious talks regarding a trade of Kevin Durant to Beantown.

According to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, league sources say there "have not even been any real discussions of substance" between the Nets and Celtics about KD.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported last month that Boston offered a package of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick for Durant, but the Nets turned it down.

However, the Durant chatter picked up again this week after the release of photos that showed him and Celtics star Jayson Tatum working out together on the court:

While it's likely that the two friends and former Olympic teammates were just getting some work in, it was inevitable that observers would read into it.

Durant's business manager, Rich Kleiman, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) in June that KD had requested a trade out of Brooklyn. Wojnarowski reported at the time that the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat were Durant's preferred landing spots.

The offers apparently haven't been to Brooklyn's liking, and the chances that the Nets keep Durant have seemingly increased.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported last month that the Nets would prefer to keep Durant because of the lack of strong offers.

Durant may try to force the Nets' hand, though. Windhorst reported last week that the situation is "headed toward" KD holding out of training camp if he isn't traded by then.

The Nets are under no obligation to trade Durant since he signed a four-year contract extension with them last year, but if he refuses to play, it could cause them to reconsider.

The Nets would have to consider an offer headlined by Brown. The 25-year-old guard has one All-Star selection to his credit and is coming off a season in which he averaged 23.6 points per game.

Meanwhile, Durant is a logical target for Boston. He is a four-time scoring champion, two-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP and one-time NBA MVP who averaged 29.9 points per game last season at age 33.

Durant could be the missing piece that puts the Celtics over the top after they fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals last season, but current indications are that the two sides aren't engaging in serious talks.

If Kevin Durant remains a Brooklyn Net, he'll open the 2022-23 season against Zion Williamson.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the Nets are set to open their regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 19. The game should also mark Zion Williamson's return to the floor after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with a foot injury.

Ben Simmons is also slated to make his return after he missed all of last season because of a holdout from the Philadelphia 76ers and a back injury.

There may be no game on the NBA's early slate with more proverbial balls up in the air.

Durant requested a trade in June and has not backed down on his stance. The 12-time All-Star met with Nets governor Joe Tsai earlier this month and demanded head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks be fired if the team wanted Durant to return, sources told Charania. Tsai refused and took to social media to back Nash and Marks.

While the Nets have focused on Durant talks, there is also the possibility Kyrie Irving has played his last game for Brooklyn. The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to an Irving trade for months, though their lack of available assets has made things difficult. Irving's future with the franchise will likely be impacted, at least in part, by the end result of Durant's trade demand.

As training camp draws closer, it's increasingly likely a disgruntled Durant and Irving will be on the floor for opening night.

The statuses of Simmons and Williamson remain great enigmas, ones that will determine how their respective teams fare next season.

Simmons' shattered confidence on the offensive end was the most glaring aspect of his game that stood out the last time we saw him on an NBA floor. If he was able to get his mental health and body right with a season off, it's likely Simmons will return to All-Star form and rank among the best defenders in basketball.

Williamson landed a max contract extension in New Orleans despite playing only 85 games over his first three NBA seasons. If he stays healthy, the Pelicans will be a clear playoff team that could sneak into the top half of the Western Conference. If the injury issues continue flaring up, Oct. 19 will be the start of another long season in New Orleans.