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Kevin Durant reportedly stopped the Brooklyn Nets from trading away Kyrie Irving at some point last season.

According to FS1 NBA insider Ric Bucher on his On The Ball with Ric Bucher podcast (h/t Hoops Hype), KD shot down the idea of a Kyrie trade, and the Nets decided to honor his wishes.

Bucher added that he has been told Durant and Irving are still good friends, but Durant may no longer value Kyrie as a teammate as much as he did when he reportedly prevented the Nets from trading him.

Last season, the Nets initially vowed to not let Irving play at all unless he received the COVID-19 vaccine since New York City protocols would have prevented him from playing in the team's home games.

Eventually, the Nets softened their stance, as multiple players went down with injuries, while others tested positive for COVID-19. That opened the door for Kyrie to be a part-time player, appearing only in road games.

The NYC protocols were ultimately changed by the end of the season, allowing Irving to play at Barclays Center despite not being vaccinated.

Despite the presence of Durant and Irving, the Nets were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.

The Nets acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets during the 2020-21 season in order to form a triumvirate of stars with KD and Kyrie, but the trio hardly played together, primarily due to injuries.

Harden was ultimately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers prior to last season's deadline for a package headlined by Ben Simmons. While Simmons never played last season due to a back issue, the expectation is that he'll be back in 2022-23.

The Nets could have a contending team if Durant, Irving, Simmons and others are healthy and playing, but it remains a mystery whether Durant or Irving will be with the team next season.

In June, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) reported that Durant's business manager, Rich Kleiman, told him KD had requested a trade despite having signed a four-year contract extension with the Nets last year.

Kyrie somewhat surprisingly opted into the final year of his contract with the Nets in 2022-23, but Wojnarowski reported at the time that before opting in, Irving had provided the organization with a list of teams he wanted them to pursue a sign-and-trade deal with.

To this point, the Nets seemingly haven't gotten an offer to their liking for either Durant or Irving, so the possibility remains that they could be teammates again next season.

In the three seasons since Durant and Irving signed with Brooklyn, the team hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs, which can't be considered anything other than a bitter disappointment.

Next season could represent the final attempt of Durant and Irving to salvage something in Brooklyn, or it is possible they have already played their final game together.

The Philadelphia 76ers could enter the sweepstakes for Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets still seeking a trade partner.

"As of earlier this week, there were high-ranking members of the Sixers who've felt strongly about engaging with Brooklyn on a Durant trade," Ian Begley of SNY reported.

A potential deal would "almost certainly" include point guard Tyrese Maxey, per Begley, while Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle were also listed as possible options for a trade package.

The 76ers likely won't want to part with Maxey, who recently earned high praise from head coach Doc Rivers.

"He's the most impressive young player I've ever had in 21 years of coaching," Rivers said on The VC Show.

The 21-year-old more than doubled his scoring average in 2021-22 while finishing with 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game. He especially stood out in the playoffs with 20.8 points per game.

There is still plenty of appeal for Philadelphia in completing a trade and going into 2022-23 with a Big Three of Durant, Joel Embiid and James Harden. They obviously would need to learn how to play together, but that trio combined to win eight of the past 13 scoring titles.

Durant and Embiid would also be under contract through 2025-26, giving an extended window for contention.

Though the Sixers are seemingly always among the best in the Eastern Conference, they haven't gotten past the second round of the playoffs since 2001.

Durant first requested a trade in June and reportedly reiterated the demand for the Nets to choose between him or the combination of head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Brooklyn continues to seek a deal, with Charania naming the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors as the "most significant candidates."

Philadelphia could still be an intriguing destination if the front office wants to go that path.

The Brooklyn Nets are going to drive a hard bargain when it comes to a potential trade for Kevin Durant.

They even reportedly asked the Boston Celtics for their two best players in early talks, according to a report from Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe:

"Brooklyn initially tried to pry both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown from Boston. That proposal went nowhere, of course. The source confirmed recent reports that Brooklyn later shifted its focus to a potential deal centered on Brown, Marcus Smart and a massive haul of future first-round draft picks. But the Celtics were not interested."

On Monday, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the Nets have "set a sky-high threshold for the return the franchise wants for Durant" and that Brooklyn governor Joe Tsai and the team "have made clear privately that they will take every last asset from a team that trades for Durant, sources said."

Within that context, asking for both Tatum and Brown in initial trade talks doesn't come as a huge surprise, even if the Nets surely knew it would be a nonstarter for Boston.

Shams' report came after Durant met with Tsai and reportedly reiterated his desire to be traded. He additionally requested that he either be dealt or that the team fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, reportedly telling Tasi he "does not have faith in the team's direction."

It didn't take long for Tsai to make his choice:

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 Nets remain in limbo, with the futures of both Durant and Kyrie Irving—who is heading into the final year of his contract after exercising his $36.5 million player option—in question.

The Celtics have emerged as a potential contender in trade talks involving Durant, largely because they could build an offer around a young talent like Brown. The question is whether it would make sense to break apart the young duo of Tatum (24) and Brown (25) after a trip to the NBA Finals this season and the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2019-20 campaign, all for the 33-year-old Durant.

Brown didn't put his best foot forward in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, averaging 23.5 points per game in the series but turning the ball over 10 times between Games 5 and 6. His handle looked suspect against the Dubs.

Durant unquestionably would be an immediate upgrade. But Brown is just entering his prime years and has already proved he can help lead the C's deep into the playoffs. Boston may not be willing to give up on his potential just yet.

Certainly, the Celtics were never going to entertain trading both Tatum and Brown.

The Boston Celtics are the early betting favorites to be the best regular-season team in the 2022-23 NBA season.

Caesars Sportsbook set Boston's over/under at 54.5 wins, per ESPN's Doug Kezirian. The Phoenix Suns follow closely behind at 53.5 wins, while the Milwaukee Bucks and defending champion Golden State Warriors are tied at 52.5.

The Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs all bring up the rear at 24.5 wins.

Depending on your viewpoint, this is either a great time to place bets on over/unders or far too volatile a landscape to make wagers with any confidence.

The futures of the Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and the Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell remain uncertain.

On the Durant front, Nets team governor Joe Tsai publicly supported head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks after The Athletic's Shams Charania reported KD issued an ultimatum to Tsai to pick him or the pair of Nash and Marks.

Caesars Sportsbook set the Nets' win total at 45.5.

You should take the over if you think Durant and Irving are sticking around because Brooklyn won 48 games in 2020-21 and notched 44 victories in 2021-22 despite Irving missing more than half of that season. Should one or both of Durant and Irving leave, you might as well burn your betting slip if you bet the over.

"We just have to go off of what we know now," said Adam Pullen, Caesars Sportsbook's assistant director of trading. "One thing I am not high on is predicting where players are going. If [Durant or Irving] gets traded, then we have to adjust to the news."

The Jazz are pegged at 32.5 wins, a steep decline for a franchise that went 49-33 last season.

A 32-50 record would've put Utah 12th in the Western Conference last year. That seems somewhat low for a team that lost Rudy Gobert and Royce O'Neale but still has Mitchell, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson.

Of course, the Jazz likely become the NBA's worst team if they trade Mitchell and go into a full fire sale. And that's a possibility between now and opening night.

If Kevin Durant's ultimate goal is to be traded away from the Brooklyn Nets, he apparently didn't help himself with his reported ultimatum.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Durant met with Nets governor Joe Tsai and said Brooklyn needs to either fire the combination of head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trade him.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Tuesday the move didn't help Durant's trade value, suggesting he "has very much limited his options" while adding, "as I talked to teams out there, they don't think this increased his trade value. They think this hurt his trade value."

.@WindhorstESPN thinks KD may have hurt his own trade chances 👀

"Kevin Durant ... in my view has very much limited his options." pic.twitter.com/Aj2aMQRily

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 9, 2022

Tsai notably responded to the report with a tweet offering support to Nash and Marks and saying the plan is to "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

That Durant is apparently done playing for Nash was something of a surprise considering their relationship seemed to be strong in the past. They bonded when Nash was a special adviser for the Golden State Warriors, and Durant even publicly supported his coach after last season's playoff loss.

"Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years," Durant told reporters in April when saying he was the right coach for the team.

Windhorst reflected on the timing of the latest development.

"The timing of it is also unusual," he said. "While star players have gotten coaches fired for decades and will get them fired for decades, he didn't express this, as far as I'm aware, to the Nets at the end of the season. And he didn't express this to the Nets when he made his trade demand. So doing it now is a maneuver. A maneuver that I don't think worked."

It has seemingly always been something with the Nets of late, whether it was Kyrie Irving missing most of the 2021-22 campaign because he was unvaccinated against COVID-19, trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers to break up a superstar trio that rarely got to play together or seeing Ben Simmons not take the court at all after he came to Brooklyn in that deal.

The team was swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and now has something of a mess on its hands with the Durant situation.

That the ultimatum reportedly hurts his trade value makes life more difficult for the front office, which Charania reported already set a "sky-high threshold for the return" in any Durant deal.

An offer that was good enough in Brooklyn's eyes to accept hasn't happened yet, which could create something of an awkward situation when the season starts if Durant is still on the roster and Nash is still the head coach.

His trade value is likely also somewhat diminished by the fact he turns 34 years old next month and has dealt with durability issues of late while missing the 2019-20 campaign, playing 35 games in 2020-21 and playing 55 games last season.

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.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium said on the Pat McAfee Show Tuesday that the rumors that Ben Simmons left the Brooklyn Nets group chat after teammates asked him if he would be playing in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics this past postseason were not true.

"This NEVER happened.. it's an amazing story but it didn't happen"@ShamsCharania on the rumors that Ben Simmons left the Nets group chat after they asked him to play in game 4 against the Celtics #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wzWShQzG9m

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 9, 2022

Simmons appeared to have his own take on the rumors:

😂 slow news day

— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) August 9, 2022

Simmons never played for the Nets last season after joining the team as part of the James Harden trade because he reportedly injured his back during winter conditioning.

There was some belief that Simmons might make his return ahead of Game 4 and the power forward reportedly planned to do so, but as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported at the time, "a week-plus of pain-free days ended with pain soreness on the eve of Brooklyn's elimination."

Last week, Ric Bucher told Colin Cowherd on FS1's The Herd that when teammates reached out to Simmons to ask him about his playing status before the game, Simmons simply left the group chat.

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

"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," Bucher said (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."

The Celtics when on to sweep the Nets, and Simmons officially went the entire season without playing a single game.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the future of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, it's unclear what the team will look like when Simmons—who had microdiscectomy surgery this offseason for the pain he was having in his lower back due to a herniated disk—does finally play for the Nets.

At the very least, that potential Nets debut seems to be on the right track.

"He is doing more on the floor, he's looking good," Shams told McAfee on Tuesday. "I think the Nets have high, high expectations for Simmons next year. ... He's supposed to be ready for training camp, here in a month-and-a-half. He's doing more and more on the court, I'm told."

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.

Ben Simmons has apparently heard the rumors of his unceremonious exit from the Brooklyn Nets' team group chat.

Simmons seemingly responded Tuesday to a report he angered Kevin Durant by leaving a team group chat when asked if he would be playing ahead of the Nets' Game 4 matchup against the Boston Celtics.

😂 slow news day

— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) August 9, 2022

Ric Bucher of Fox Sports relayed the story last week on The Herd.

"They're having a team chat before Game 4, thinking he's going to play against the Boston Celtics, and from what I'm told, Ben just left the chat," Bucher said (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. And [Kevin Durant] is like, ‘This is what I signed up for? This is who I’m playing with?’”

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

It's important to note that Simmons did not offer any comment on the accuracy of the report.

That said, the three-time All-Star's potential duck-and-dive from his teammates is far down the list of the Nets' issues.

The franchise has Joe Tsai publicly responding to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, which stated Durant told the Nets governor he wanted coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks fired if he were to return next season.

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

Durant's demand was the latest in a power play as the 12-time All-Star seeks to force his way out of Brooklyn. The Nets forward informed Tsai of his desire to exit the franchise in June, citing a frustration with the franchise's direction.

While the team has explored the Durant trade market, no team has been willing to meet the Nets' massive demands.

Simmons, meanwhile, has become the largely forgotten third piece of the Nets' core, quietly working on his game this summer while Durant and Kyrie Irving make headlines. If the drama of the summer is any indication of what that group chat was like, it's hard to blame Simmons for taking an exit of his own.

The Philadelphia 76ers almost certainly aren't trading James Harden, but the All-Star guard has a failsafe in case they do.

Michael Scotto of Hoopshype reported Harden's contract with the Sixers carries a 15 percent trade kicker.

Harden took a significant pay cut to re-sign on a two-year, $68.6 million contract in Philadelphia. The move allowed the Sixers to go out in free agency and land PJ Tucker and Danuel House, two players who previously played with Harden with the Houston Rockets.

While the kicker is noteworthy, there is almost zero chance of it ever coming into play. The Sixers pot-committed with Harden midway through last year, with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey reuniting with his Houston superstar.

Harden's act of good faith in taking a pay cut showed a commitment to winning a championship next season, and it likely comes with a bit of a wink-wink-nudge-nudge about his future with the franchise.

The contract comes with a player option for the 2023-24 season, one Harden will almost certainly decline, barring injury or a massive dip in performance. By next summer, the Sixers will be eligible to go over the hard cap and re-sign Harden to a long-term deal with a salary closer to what he could have received this offseason in free agency.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the NBA is currently investigating the Sixers for tampering. Harden's contract is at the center of concern around the league, with some executives wondering whether there is a "handshake" deal in place for next summer.

In any case, Harden's trade kicker at least protects him—and allows him to recoup some of his pay cut—in the case of an unforeseen falling out in Philadelphia.