Summer League Talk Surrounding Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, More - Siegel's Scoop
LAS VEGAS - As many new, young faces look to make their mark at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the main focus of all league personnel continues to be on Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
Requesting a trade on June 30, right before the negotiating period for free agency began, Durant surprised many, including the Nets’ front-office. Many did not see this move coming, but at the same time, the writing has been on the wall for months given Brooklyn’s inability to find success both on and off the court over the last few seasons.
Nothing has gone the Nets’ way and while injuries have played a part in this, so many things have stacked up on top of themselves for this franchise like a giant Jenga tower.
Well, you can only stack this tower so high before it collapses and the 2021-22 season seemed to be the point in which this tower fell for the Nets!
Kevin Durant wanting out of Brooklyn is very real right now and while the Nets have been in talks with various teams over the last couple of weeks, no deal seems imminent.
Rudy Gobert getting traded from the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a package that included five players and four first-round picks has really increased the asking price for Durant and this makes a lot of sense.
The Nets are not going to be getting rid of Durant unless they can get a substantial return and so far, teams around the league are not willing to offer up the superstar caliber talent that is being requested in this kind of deal.
The Phoenix Suns have held Deandre Ayton as their main trade chip in a potential Kevin Durant trade, yet sources say the Nets have “little to no” interest in Ayton, mainly because they would not want to be tied down to a new max contract that he is likely to sign in free agency either outright or through a sign-and-trade.
Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri has talked with Nets general manager Sean Marks multiple times during Summer League, sparking rumors on whether or not the Raptors will be willing to give up a ton of assets to make a move for Durant, similar to the move they made for Kawhi Leonard back in 2018.
Still, 2021-22 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes does not seem to be up for discussion in a potential trade for Kevin Durant and the Raptors have not made any offers involving their young star.
We also should not count out the Miami Heat yet either.
The Heat appear to be willing to talk about trades involving anyone not named Jimmy Butler right now, however, a trade between the Nets and Heat is complicated given that Bam Adebayo cannot be sent to Brooklyn as long as Ben Simmons is there due to the Designated Rookie Extension rule.
The question though is if a third or even a fourth team would be willing to offer up the draft assets Miami would need to send to Brooklyn. It is quite possible that Adebayo would have to be on the move in order for the Heat to get the assets they need to acquire Durant from the Nets.
Ultimately, the Nets are in control here in trade talks and it is definitely not crazy to believe that these trade talks could be dragged into training camp and preseason minicamps. This is definitely a very real scenario at this point that many around the league are preparing for.
One Team Has Shown Interest In Kyrie Irving
It really is no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers are the team pursuing Kyrie Irving and so far in Las Vegas, the main feeling is that one way or another, the Lakers will end up with the seven-time All-Star.
Will this be a trade this offseason? Maybe, but really nobody has an answer as to what will actually occur.
Should the Lakers look to trade for Irving right now, this deal will involve both Russell Westbrook and Talen Horton-Tucker as outgoing assets, but Brooklyn has shown zero interest in acquiring Westbrook from Los Angeles.
The only way a deal like this can work with Irving being traded to the Lakers is if general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers can get a third team involved to take on Westbrook’s contract, possibly waiving him similar to what the San Antonio Spurs did with veteran Danilo Gallinari after trading Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks.
No other team in the league has reached out to the Brooklyn Nets about wanting to trade for Kyrie Irving.
Many around Summer League believe a deal will get done at some point, but as of right now, neither the Nets nor the Lakers seem highly motivated to get a deal done as soon as possible.
With this said though, things can change very quickly, especially if the Lakers do find another team to offer up some assets that would be appealing to Brooklyn to take back in a deal involving Irving.
It would not be shocking to see Kyrie Irving dealt before Kevin Durant simply based on the chatter within league circles right now.
Will this happen though? I guess we will have to just wait and see what transpires amongst these conversations between general managers in Las Vegas.
Other League Notes:
- Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans), Keegan Murray (Sacramento Kings), Tari Eason (Houston Rockets) and Mac McClung (Golden State Warriors) are some that have stood out in Summer League so far. Some league personnel who spoke with SI Fastbreak at the games believe that Murphy could be “this year’s breakout star” in New Orleans, following in the footsteps of Herb Jones in New Orleans last year.
- Myles Turner has seen his name in trade rumors for years now, but there does not appear to be any deals in the works here with the Indiana Pacers at this point in the offseason.
- The New York Knicks are happy with the offseason moves they made to sign Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, but some believe that they are not done making moves just yet. Sources say Evan Fournier ($18 million) and Derrick Rose ($14.5 million) are two players the Knicks could move in a trade to add another key talent that becomes available.
- The sense in Las Vegas is that the Cleveland Cavaliers and restricted free agent Collin Sexton will agree to a new contract that would be either a one- or two-year deal.
- The NBA and the Charlotte Hornets continue to monitor Miles Bridges’ situation stemming from his domestic violence arrest in June. At this time, the Hornets have not renounced Bridges’ rights and he still remains a restricted free agent.
- Trading away Dejounte Murray, the San Antonio Spurs seem to be heading towards yet another rebuilding and developmental year. Some believe that the Spurs will be looking ahead this upcoming year in anticipation of the 2023 NBA Draft with French big man Victor Wembanyama being labeled as a “generational” type talent.
