Kevin Durant had asked to be traded last summer because of problems with Steve Nash. With the start of the regular season and the almost immediate departure of the Canadian coach, however, the alarm seemed to have abated. Now, however, that Kyrie Irving, whom he 4 years ago chose as his wingman, has been traded to the Dallas Mavericks, KD’s future is also uncertain. There are rumors in the NBA that Durant may also ask to leave in the coming weeks, and if that happens, the Phoenix Suns are already to be counted among the teams vying for him.
Durant is currently out with injury, but should be back soon. Of course it is difficult for the Nets to give up, in a matter of days, both Irving and Durant, but it is a conversation that could certainly be resumed in the summer. KD has a contract that expires in 2026, so he has less of the upper hand, man it remains to be seen how much sense it makes for the Nets to pursue the title chase with the pair formed by him and Ben Simmons.
From the trade for Irving in fact only Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith were obtained, certainly not two players who will even out the loss of Kyrie. The Nets may therefore have reached a point of no return that will force them to rebuild the team from scratch.