Michael Scotto: The Brooklyn Nets signed forward Kessler Edwards to a two-year deal, which includes a team option for next season, league sources told @hoopshype .
NBA Rumor: Kevin Durant Free Agency
1,236 rumors in this storyline
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Michael Scotto: Kevin Durant on reports the Knicks were hesitant to offer a max contract in free agency: “I don’t know how true that is. I heard rumors and sources. I don’t know where those come from. I take that with a grain of salt. I didn’t believe it. I don’t think anybody did.”
Michael Scotto: Kevin Durant: “Imagine the tweets I’ve been getting since I decided to come to the Nets from Knicks fans. They’re still pissed off about stuff I say and the little jabs here and there. It’s always love in the streets when I see Knicks fans. It’s a good rivalry to be a part of.”
Kevin Durant pulled out of game due to health protocols
Shams Charania: Nets‘ Kevin Durant is out for the remainder of the Raptors game due to health and safety protocols.
Durant can become a free agent again in 2022, which could have been a motivating factor for the Nets. Harden and Kyrie Irving also can become free agents in that offseason. “Kevin Durant is in the second year of a four-year deal and getting Harden is another reason for Durant to want to stay,” added Wojnarowski.
Kevin Durant: Brooklyn my final stop
Kevin Durant doesn’t plan on leaving the Brooklyn Nets anytime soon. In an interview with Dorell Wright on The Player Tribune’s Text Message Talk Show, the 32-year-old superstar says that “as of today” the Nets will be the last stop for him. Durant, who has played in the league for 12 seasons, signed a four-year, $164 million contract with Brooklyn in the 2019 offseason. By the time the deal expires, he’ll be 34-years-old and young enough to secure one more lucrative contract.
The $90 million Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center includes a sports medicine, treatment and rehab facility managed by the Henry Ford Health System, as well as retail and public spaces. Gores was asked afterward about a possible contract extension for Drummond, the team’s standout center. He spoke highly of Drummond but did not elaborate on any possible negotiations.
“You know how committed I am to Andre,” Gores said. “We both know the process. I said it many times, he’s very underrated in a lot of ways, for that he does. Culturally, he’s been so good for this team, just in terms of his attitude. I met him when he was 18, just watching him grow up, I’m real proud of him. “We’re committed to each other, but we just got to run the process. Everybody is talking at a business level. We have a lot of respect for each other. It’s early.”
The Brooklyn Nets included about $1 million in yearly performance-based incentives into maximum contracts for both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, a tweak that allowed them to maneuver to fit contracts for DeAndre Jordan and second-round pick Nicolas Claxton into cap space, according to contract data obtained by ESPN. Both deals have player options in their fourth seasons, meaning Durant and Irving can hit free agency again in the summer of 2022.
Irving’s contract is especially interesting: eight separate incentives — $125,000 each, all deemed “unlikely” — and thus not included in Irving’s current cap hit. Irving’s initial salary for 2019-20 is $31,720,000 — exactly $1 million short of his maximum. Hitting all eight bonuses would make up the difference.
Mark Medina: Bob Myers also commented on Kevin Durant’s departure: “We’re thankful to Kevin for the incredible things he did for our team and our franchise during his three years with the Warriors. We wish him the best moving forward.”
Marc Stein: Kevin Durant is really, officially a Net pic.twitter.com/LMexs80Gpj
Dennis Smith Jr. wasn’t surprised Irving, Durant and even DeAndre Jordan chose the Nets. Jordan was Smith’s teammate in Dallas and New York last season. “I wasn’t surprised, to be honest with you. People in the league talk anyway. They just keep it private. People in the league talk,” Smith said. “They’re great players but I like what we have, to be honest with you. I know there are a lot of hecklers out there and talking this that and the third. But I like what we have and I’m not really concerned with what’s going on in Brooklyn.”
Chris Haynes: Golden State co-chairman Joe Lacob thanks Kevin Durant for his time and says “no player will ever wear #35.” pic.twitter.com/LFGLLEBSZf
Adrian Wojnarowski: The Warriors and Nets are on course to complete the sign-and-trade that will deliver All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell to Golden State on a four-year, $117M maximum contract, league sources tell ESPN. Kevin Durant and his camp had to help work deal to completion overnight.
Logan Murdock: Kevin Durant on his IG story: “No man can speak for me or make decisions for me.” pic.twitter.com/jqnQPNqFpt
Former teammate Kendrick Perkins said Kevin Durant has signed on for a “golden opportunity” as the new face of the Brooklyn Nets and that the Golden State Warriors were “taking him for granted.” “They’re going to miss him when he’s gone,” Perkins, a close friend who played with Durant with the Oklahoma City Thunder, told The Undefeated. “I talked to KD and he is happy.”
“Finally, he got his own team,” Perkins said of the move to Brooklyn. “It was time for him to leave Golden State.” Durant will play alongside Kyrie Irving, an All-Star who helped LeBron James win an NBA title in Cleveland before becoming the face of the Celtics — where it didn’t pan out. “I love it for KD. It’s great for KD and Kyrie to be in the New York area,” Perkins said. “I have no doubt they will co-exist. Kyrie needs to be able to play freely and just be himself and let KD be the leader and the playmaker. I think Kyrie will fall in line. After he left Cleveland he called ‘Bron to apologize to him. He realized that he is not that dude and that he needs to play alongside a guy like KD.”
Stephen Curry flew straight to the New York area from Shanghai, China. But he wasn’t going to pitch Kevin Durant on why he should stay with the Warriors. It was already too late. He was on the plane when the news broke that Durant was leaving for Brooklyn. And Curry didn’t turn the jet around or cancel the trip. Because it wasn’t about recruiting. It was about respect. It was about thanks. It was easy to presume that if anyone could sway Durant, Curry would be the one. The point guard has been the Warriors’ biggest magnet, drawing the key pieces to the dynasty, including Durant and Andre Iguodala and coach Steve Kerr. It was Curry’s mojo that built this. It was his stamp of approval that sealed Durant’s arrival. His trip to New York was seen as a last-ditch effort to keep Durant.
Marc Berman: KD biographer Marcus Thompson today: “Seems the real driving force was the opportunity to play with his good friends. It’s not surprising that such an opportunity matters to Durant.”
Neither Curry nor Durant responded to requests for comment. But what was probably unsaid, though, was what could have been. This moment illustrated one of the reasons, perhaps a significant one, Durant left — because Curry and Durant never really got to become Curry and Durant. It might have been the only thing that truly could have kept Durant in the Bay. “He wanted that type of relationship,” said one source friendly with Durant. “It just didn’t work out like that.”
After talking to his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate on the phone on Sunday, Kendrick Perkins is confident Kevin Durant made the right decision to leave the Golden State Warriors. “They’re going to miss him when he’s gone,” Perkins told The Undefeated. “I talked to KD and he is happy.”
When asked about all of the negative things that transpired with Durant and the Warriors over the past year, a source close to Durant said: “All that showed a lack of respect for one of the greatest players to put that uniform on and the fact that he took all that abuse and still put his career on the line to help them win.”
KD, Kyrie taking less than the max
Adrian Wojnarowski: Free agents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are taking less than the max to allow DeAndre Jordan to get the $10M annual salary with Brooklyn, league sources tell ESPN.
Albert Nahmad: Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving could structure their contracts as full maxes ($32.7M and $38.2M, respectively), but with $5.0M and $4.3M, respectively, as unlikely bonuses. That could save Nets $9.3M of cap room. A DeAndre Jordan 4-year, $40M contract could start as low as $9.3M.
Albert Nahmad: Warriors would create a $30.0M trade exception if they can convince the Nets to acquire Kevin Durant through a sign-and-trade rather than a straight free agent signing.
Sign-and-trade deal for KD?
Chris Haynes: There’s a possibility Kevin Durant will engage in a sign-and-trade swap with Golden State and Brooklyn, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
Ramona Shelburne: The Knicks and owner Jim Dolan were not prepared to offer Kevin Durant a full max contract due to concerns over his recovery from the Achilles injury, league sources tell me and @Adrian Wojnarowski. Knicks officials are in Los Angeles tonight, meeting with free agents such as Julius Randle.
The Boardroom: Kevin Durant to sign with Brooklyn Nets.
Free-agent All-NBA star Kevin Durant plans to sign a four-year, $164 million contract to play for the Brooklyn Nets, league sources told ESPN. Durant will join free agents Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, who also plan to sign with the franchise, league sources said.
The next time Kevin Durant plays in an NBA game, he will be wearing a Brooklyn Nets uniform, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. Durant planned to make a formal announcement Sunday on The Boardroom’s Instagram channel. Regardless, this brings a quick resolution to the 10-time All-Star’s free-agent decision. It is a max salary deal for four years, $164.3 million.
Spencer Dinwiddie: Lol pic.twitter.com/rtTMrokbbR
Kevin Durant to Brooklyn
Adrian Wojnarowski: Kevin Durant is planning to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources tell ESPN.
Kyle Kuzma: Knicks can’t catch a break lol
Durant decision coming tonight
Adrian Wojnarowski: Source: Kevin Durant will announce his free agent decision tonight on his company owned sports business network: instagram.com/theboardroom/
One NBA general manager speculated to The News that with Leonard and Kevin Durant taking meetings with multiple teams, an elongated process by those players could have a ripple effect and delay other signings around the league.
Something worth noting on Durant: several executives monitoring the Durant situation don’t believe Durant would be interested in being seen as someone who followed another player to a team. Assuming Brooklyn agrees quickly to a deal with Irving and Durant and did so subsequently, the narrative could be shaped that Durant was following Irving to Brooklyn.
Kevin Durant undecided about his future
When you wake up Sunday morning, will Kevin know what he’s doing? Rich Kleiman: While I’m doing this interview, Kevin is completely undecided in figuring out what he wants to do.
Where does winning fit in? Rich Kleiman: Winning is a major part of everything. I mean, that’s why you do what you do. … Winning brings upon a lot of fun and happiness as well, it’s all very intertwined. When you’re a player like Kevin’s caliber, you expect to win whenever you get on the floor.
We know that the Knicks feel as if they’re in on Durant as free agency approaches. SNY sources confirm that they expect to have an audience with Durant. As far as Leonard goes, there are people around the NBA Finals MVP who see New York as a destination for him. ESPN reported that Leonard plans to meet with the Knicks.
Six-time All-Star free agent guard Kyrie Irving is meeting with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in New York with both sides motivated to reach a deal on a four-year, $141 million maximum contract, league sources told ESPN. Irving, who’s leaving the Boston Celtics, is a part of a bold two-part plan to acquire Irving and All-NBA forward Kevin Durant in free agency, league sources tell ESPN.
Durant remains interested with the Nets and is expected to speak with them this week, sources said. Irving and Durant have built a strong relationship.
Multiple NBA sources have indicated to Newsday that point guard Kyrie Irving is a virtual certainty to sign with the Nets, and it could happen quickly because Irving reportedly has been courting forward Kevin Durant and can signal his commitment by agreeing to a maximum-salary deal worth $141 million over four years.
The Warriors’ meeting with Kevin Durant will include a surprise guest in addition to president and general manager Bob Myers. Stephen Curry, according to multiple league sources, is heading to New York as well.
But it could potentially be a big deal that Curry is going. Even though the Warriors have several All-Star-level championship players, Curry and Durant would be the pillars of the Warriors if Durant decides to stay. They would be the faces of the franchise and their relationship figures to be the most important. Even in 2016, Durant said the key thing he wanted to know was whether Curry wanted him on the team.
Curry making a surprise visit to Durant seems to be a major gesture to show that he still wants Durant. Of course, Curry could be just stopping by to visit his friend and not necessarily pitching Durant, who has said he doesn’t want to be recruited. But the timing of his visit certainly seems to point to Curry putting his bid in to keep Durant.
Free agent stars Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have been discussing scenarios that could include a future with them playing together, league sources told ESPN. For now, there are two clear possibilities for the two All-NBA forwards to sign into the same franchise — the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks.
Durant and Leonard are planning to talk with each of those teams once free agency opens Sunday at 6 PM ET, league sources said. Leonard and Durant are each planning discussions and meetings with several teams, but only Clippers and Knicks are in alignment with salary cap space and common interest to sign both players. Brooklyn could conceivably house both, but a more likely scenario would be Durant and point guard Kyrie Irving signing as free agents with the Nets. Brooklyn is firmly Irving’s focus in free agency, league sources said.
KD-Kawhi banding together?
Rival executives told The Athletic they believe Durant has considered a possible partnership with Leonard throughout the pre-free agency process so far. For the Clippers a potential duo of Leonard and Durant is the pitch they believe will trump any others — including Brooklyn’s. Around the rest of the league, several deals should be completed upon the start of free agency on Sunday afternoon, but most of the available players are awaiting decisions from the players at the top.
Warriors President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Bob Myers, fresh off his new contract extension, is tentatively scheduled to travel to New York over the weekend where Durant and his inner circle are located, league sources told The Athletic. Other teams, such as the Knicks, Nets and Clippers, could speak with Durant, too. The Knicks have other free agency meetings set in Los Angeles during the week, according to sources.
Meanwhile, All-Star Kyrie Irving is fully focused on a potential deal with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources have told The Athletic. League sources say the Nets’ goals center upon forming a trio of Irving, Durant and free-agent center DeAndre Jordan. That is part of the intrigue in Brooklyn, the ability to take one commitment from Irving and turn it into the capability to sign all three. A trio of that magnitude should compete for multiple NBA championships in the Eastern Conference.
Durant to meet with four teams
Golden State’s Kevin Durant is planning to engage four teams in discussions upon the opening of NBA free agency on Sunday — the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Warriors, league sources tell ESPN.
There’s expected to be some combination of face-to-face meetings and communications by other means with Durant and his business manager, Rich Kleiman, front-office sources told ESPN. Durant’s decision-making process could extend well into next week, league sources told ESPN.
Tommy Beer: Per @Brian Windhorst on SportsCenter just now: “Kevin Durant, from what I am told, will receive a five year [supermax] offer from the Warriors this weekend.” That’s $221 million over five years. Or $57 million more in guaranteed money than either the Nets or Knicks can offer.
Still hugely in demand despite his injury, Durant will get numerous other offers. If he wants to go elsewhere now, the Warriors are preparing plans to pivot and potentially try to work with Durant on a sign-and-trade deal. Myers has been staying in contact with Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman since the season ended, according to sources.
There have been some strong suggestions on television and radio recently that the Brooklyn Nets are the front runners for Kevin Durant. But that notion is not accurate. Sources familiar with the matter told SNY that the Nets are not the front runners or favorites to sign Durant at the moment.
With four days to go before free agency, members of the Knicks organization still believe they have a chance to sign their top targets: Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving.
Durant has given his top four suitors — the Warriors, Nets, Knicks and Clippers — no indication of where he plans to sign, according to league sources. Now that he has declined his $31.5 million player option with Golden State, Durant is preparing to mull over his choices with his business manager, Rich Kleiman, in New York.
Regardless of Durant’s uncertain future, he is expected to miss at least next season because of his surgically repaired right Achilles tendon. Despite Thompson’s expected return with the Warriors, he will likely sit out a significant chunk to heal his left knee. “I feel positive vibes with them. That’s a given,” Iguodala said. “When we’re communicating, it’s not just on a teammate level. It’s on a friendship level and making sure we’re all good in a good place. I got good vibes with the guys.”
Ex-Knick Enes Kanter has made his prediction in the Kevin Durant saga, and it’s not one his former employers will want to hear. “If I were him, don’t get me wrong I love New York, I love the Knicks, I love the fans, MSG and everything it’s cool,” Kanter said Wednesday on the Colin Cowherd show. “But I see him going to Brooklyn with Kyrie [Irving].”
“I know KD and I know his personality and everything — the media might be a little harsh on him in New York,” Kanter said. “Because if you’re KD, you’re going to the Knicks, if you’re not winning, they’re going to blame you. I see him going to Brooklyn. I wish he goes to the Knicks, but I see him going to Brooklyn.”
Knicks targeting DeMarcus Cousins
Marc Stein: The Knicks are weighing the prospect of extending a considerable one-year offer to Warriors free-agent big man DeMarcus Cousins if they miss out on top target Kevin Durant, league sources say
NBA superstar Kevin Durant has wrapped up some business in Malibu, selling his oceanfront home on Broad Beach for $12.15 million. Accounting for real estate commissions and other fees, the sale comes out as a bit of a wash for the 10-time all-star. He bought the place last year for $12.05 million, The Times previously reported in April.
Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard meeting with Knicks?
Frank Isola: When free agency starts the Knicks are expecting to have meetings with Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard before heading to Los Angeles to meet with what are considered second tier free agents. The countdown begins…
Durant is still considering a number of scenarios in free agency, including a return to Golden State, league sources tell ESPN. The New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers are also believed to be considerations, sources said.
The Knicks would still sign Durant as a solo act, per league source, willing to swallow another lousy season developing prospects while being opportunistic in the trade market. But the Knicks have to be nervous about the influence of Irving, who could pull Durant to Brooklyn, leaving the Knicks empty handed and the world wondering (again) why they made the Porzingis trade in the first place.
Durant, sources insist, has yet to make a final decision on where he’ll play next season. The Nets noise is legit. The Knicks still have hope, but those one-time favorites are a victim of variables. Done deals don’t exist in this league in February. Too much is still yet to happen. Something rather monumental did happen.
As expected, KD opts out
Adrian Wojnarowski: Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant has declined his $31.5M player option and will become an unrestricted free agent, league sources tell ESPN. Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman are in New York, evaluating free agency options. So far, process has stayed private.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Zach Lowe asked ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski if there has been a breakdown in trust between KD and the Warriors. “If there were a breakdown in trust, you would imagine that Kevin Durant’s camp and the Warriors would not be in communication. And they have been in communication,” Woj said. “They have talked. “Their ability to be able to talk through whatever potential issues there are in trying to go forward, I think those lines of communication are open. Does he stay? I think that conversation has yet to really happen between Durant, Rich Kleiman, Bob Myers and the organization. “I do think there’s gonna be a point here where they do talk before free agency starts. But there’s no indication that they have been shunned by KD. I don’t believe that’s the case.”
Though the Nets clearly aren’t unaware of all the drama that went down in Boston or the reputation that precedes Irving, their dream scenario remains signing both he and Kevin Durant.
Durant and Irving, league sources say, have met twice in recent weeks to discuss their desire to continue their careers on the same team, an idea forged while playing together on the U.S. national team. The first meeting took place in the Bay Area while Durant nursed a strained right calf; the second occurred in New York shortly after Durant had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
“Whatever Kevin is planning to do,” says one league executive who has known Durant since he entered the NBA, “he is going to change his mind at least 25 times before he actually does it.”
Irving, meanwhile, also recently purchased a new home in South Orange, New Jersey, but league sources say he is pressing Durant to join him with the Nets and is trying to recruit Jordan as well. Durant did have his Achilles repaired by a Nets team physician, Dr. Martin O’Malley, but the New York Post’s Mark Fischer quoted one of O’Malley’s medical colleagues warning not to read too much into that.
The Knicks’ belief is if anyone in the league can come back from an Achilles tear, it is Durant. However, it’s not a no-brainer. “I wouldn’t do it,’’ one NBA talent evaluator said. “It may look good now, appear they had it right [he was coming] until the injury. But it’s hard to justify all that for maybe one good year. By the fourth year, I can see people wondering when will he come off the cap.”
June 7, 2023 | 11:49 pm EDT Update
StatMuse: Teammates to each record a triple-double in a Finals game: — Steph and Draymond — Jokic and Jamal That’s the list. pic.twitter.com/FI5gjzLL7e
Clutch Points: “To be honest, not much.” Nikola Jokic on his 30-20-10 performance in Game 3 and whether it means anything to him 😅 pic.twitter.com/wXBl6JPd9E
Melissa Rohlin: Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic: “Nothing he does surprises me ever.”
Melissa Rohlin: Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray: “By far their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together.”
Brady Hawk: Michael Malone: “I thought our defense was fantastic tonight…Defending and rebounding at a high level.” 58 to 33 on those boards is wild pic.twitter.com/6RjfEuBrOS
Ben Golliver: Nuggets Coach Michael Malone after Finals Game 3 win over Heat: “We did not come down here for one win.”
StatMuse: Christian Braun tonight: 15 PTS 4 REB 7-8 FG The first Western Conference rookie with a 15-point Finals game since Sam Cassell in 1994. pic.twitter.com/kBZWmmIeXU
