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June 26, 2022 | 6:52 am EDT Update
Kevin Durant has not spoken with the Nets in weeks?
Not much of Murdockās take was optimistic if youāre a Nets fan. Indeed, he referred to the franchiseās current situation as ādestructionā in the podcast and suggested perhaps more firmly than other pundits that Durant could indeed leave. āThe vision is on the verge of crumbling,ā he wrote. āIt didnāt have to be this way,ā he said, summing up. āThis team … and itās ironic. Kevin came to reconcile relationships, build relationships with his BFFās and itās not working out. Itās doing the exact opposite. And you juxtapose that with Golden State winning…ā āNow, you have reports that Kyrie is looking elsewhere. I made some calls. Kevin Durant has not talked to the team in weeks. I donāt think Kevin is confident in the front office right now. I donāt know if heās at the stage of leaving but thereās a big uneasiness from not only from the Kyrie side, but the KD side as well.ā
And Murdock reiterated reports that Durant, who had in the past recruited free agents, is not doing that now. āAt least right now, heās one of those guys who doesnāt want to recruit, isnāt in the position to recruit or doesnāt feel like he is a position to recruit whether you like that or not.
At the center of it, Murdock pointed out multiple times is the Nets relationship with Irving. āHis biggest beef is that he feels that the front office didnāt grow to understand Kyrie, whatever that means. I would push back on that when a guy leaves for two weeks at a time … Kyrie earns the lionās share of the blame. But I think KD believes that āhey, you guys didnāt understand this guy. You didnāt try to figure out where he was coming from.āā
Still, Durant believes the Nets didnāt support Irving particularly when they decided not to play him at all in October, after he refused to get vaccinated like all but a handful of NBA players, then brought him back in October. āThatās just how he feels. āHey man, I brought this guy in, him and Kyrie, and the front office didnāt do enough to support him at a time when we needed to support him.ā
Moreover, Murdock pointed to the Nets decision to dump Adam Harrington, their long-time assistant coach and director of development, as a big negative for KD. Durant and Harrington go back to KDās time in Oklahoma City when Harrington was his shooting coach. āAnd hereās another thing, KOC, the Nets got rid of Adam Harrington. whoās very close to Kevin. Heās one of Kevinās guys. And that had a big ripple effect on how Kevin feels about this right now. Heās still in this figure-it-out mode but there is some fire to that smoke that heās kind of reevaluating where he stands with this.ā
Tony Durant. Based.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving won a ring together before, and it may not have been their last … ’cause Matt Barnes tells TMZ Sports the Lakers could be smelling champagne if Kyrie Irving joins L.A. Matt — who played for the Purple and Gold for two seasons — spoke about the recent Irving rumors out at LAX this week … and he told us if Uncle Drew ends up with the Lakers, it could result in the franchise’s 18th championship.
Hawks interested in Deandre Ayton, but wouldn't pay max money
The Hawks could still pursue Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton in free agency. Sources tell The Athletic that the Hawksā interest in the 23-year-old would be contingent on landing him for less than a max contract. That may not be an option, as the Pistons, who have the cap space for a max contract, are expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Ayton in free agency.
