trade talks with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving stagnate even with all of the league’s general managers convened in Las Vegas, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. That nets “We are determined to be patient and will not give up either player without getting what they want in return,” Lewis adds.
Lewis describes all Durant discussions as “only at the conversational stage and probably not too serious”. He states that Brooklyn’s first focus is on moving Durant because the lakers appears to be the only real market Irving and the Nets would need to take back Russell Westbrook‘s salary of $47 million, which could limit flexibility in a Durant deal.
rumors about the warrior as a potential landing site for Durant seem to have cooled off, notes Lewis. Stephen Curry indirectly addressed the situation on Saturday, dismissing “the rumor mill” and adding: “I like where we are” in reference to the current squad.
Here are a few more notes on Durant and Irving:
- Regardless of the return, the Durant era will be remembered as a “disastrous failure” for Nets management, Lewis adds in a separate article. Though the trial could drag on for weeks or even months, Lewis does not believe or claim speculation that Durant and Irving may eventually play for Brooklyn again birds of prey would not separate me Scottie Barnes in a Durant deal.
- The Nets and the teams they speak to are all cautious about putting together a Durant trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who adds that there’s no guarantee a deal will be struck before the end of the Summer League. “When you’re the Nets, you can get a sense of how far some teams will go.” Wojnarowski said “And if you feel like they’ve gone as far as they want to go with you, is that good enough for Kevin Durant?” Because in any scenario, you probably don’t get any value for Kevin Durant. There’s no deal where you can say, “Hey, we’re better at this. It’s just the best you can get. And with the four years left on his contract, you could wait and see.”
- Durant refuses to listen to offers of recruitment from other players in the league, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes said in a recent Posted Up podcast. Aside from the occasional post on Twitter, Durant doesn’t have contact with anyone outside of his inner circle, Haynes adds. “Numerous stars have tried to get in touch with him to ask if he would consider other avenues.” said Haynes. “I just want to get a feel for what he’s thinking. … KD has gone dark. He doesn’t talk to anyone. KD not taking calls, not responding to texts, KD has gone dark.”
- The Lakers may be at odds over whether to go after Irving at all, The Orange County Register’s Kyle Goon said on The Athletic NBA Show podcast. Goon heard that Lebron James wants to act for Irving, but others in the organization would rather try to use their fortune to get Buddy Held and Myles Turner of the pacemaker.