Kevin Durant Received Check From Nets After Requesting Trade
This offseason has been very long and very stressful for the Brooklyn Nets for a lot of reasons.
Not only do they have to deal with getting a handful of players ready for the 2022-23 season due to the fact that they are working their way back from injuries, but Brooklyn has also had to deal with drama surrounding their two All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The day free agency was supposed to begin, Durant requested a trade from the Nets, sending the NBA world into a frenzy and forcing every team in the league to call GM Sean Marks and offer up their best trade package for the generational talent.
As of now, Kevin Durant still remains on the Brooklyn Nets roster, but more and more details are starting to emerge in regards to what has transpired over the last few weeks.
Recently, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the day after Durant requested a trade from the team, he received an eight-figure check from the Nets.
The 12-time All-Star signed a new four-year, $194 million deal in August 2021, a deal that officially went into place on July 1 of this year, the day after he requested a trade from the team.
This eight-figure check Durant received from Brooklyn is one of two massive advanced payments he will receive from the Nets before October 1 due to his new contract extension kicking in, Stein stated.
Durant is set to make a total of $42,969,845 during the 2022-23 season and according to Marc Stein, his contract calls for him to receive 50% of his full contracts ($21,484,922) in a pair of installments before October 1, meaning that Kevin Durant recently got $10,742,461 from Brooklyn the day after he requested a trade.
As for wanting to leave the Nets, it seems like Kevin Durant could have very well played his final game in a Nets uniform at this point.
The All-Star forward has not backed down on his trade request and while the team’s asking price is very high, Durant could very well be using his ultimatum of “keep me or Sean Marks and Steve Nash” as a way to lower his trade value league-wide.
While anything is possible and this relationship could possibly be mended before the start of the 2022-23 season, especially since Kyrie Irving does appear to be willing to play out his contract with the Nets this upcoming year, Durant is not usually one to go back on his words.
The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are the four teams that have been linked the most to Kevin Durant over the last week. Whether or not they have what the Nets are wanting in return remains the big “million dollar question” around the NBA.
