Jerry West thinks Nets are keeping Kevin Durant

“My best guess…he’s not going to be traded. You can’t give enough to get a guy like ” Jerry West doesn’t think the Nets will be trading KD #NetsWorld
Source: Twitter @SiriusXMNBA

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Wes Goldberg @wcgoldberg
New @LockedOnHeat pod
– The latest on Miami’s pursuit of Kevin Durant
– The Deandre Ayton domino
– Revisiting Kyrie
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/loc… – 7:33 AM Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
What if… KD trade demand was the pro sports disgruntled equivalent of Will slapping Chris🤔 – 1:25 AM Frank Madden @fmaddenNBA
One year ago today: Khris drops 40 points — including 12 clutch points in the final 6 minutes — to lead the Bucks to a comeback win in Game 4 of the Finals. Fun fact: Khris has as many 40-point Finals games as Kobe, KD, Wilt and Kareem (1) pic.twitter.com/FmcLMLI82p – 11:56 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
What does Ayton staying in Phoenix mean for Kevin Durant trade market? nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/14/wha… – 11:22 PM Dan Favale @danfavale
the suns took deandre ayton off the market.
and they still *remain* a viable kevin durant trade destination—if not the favorites to land him.
i wrote about why:
https://t.co/BUxv7g0i4D pic.twitter.com/0eNNSdKhi6 – 9:01 PM Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
Suns tonight match Pacers’ offer for Ayton, taking him out of play for Durant trade. But Heat still needs help in Durant, Mitchell pursuits, amid ESPN report that Knicks are favorites to acquire the Jazz All Star guard: miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia… – 8:37 PM Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Kevin Durant wrinkle notwithstanding, I’d wager the play was always going to be sowing seeds of doubt that the Suns would match an offer for Deandre Ayton, then matching once someone took the bait. Got him for less than they could’ve offered him – 8:30 PM Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
“I never even expected to come into a situation like Brooklyn, where I had Kyrie and KD take me under their wing,” @Cam Thomas told @Andscape. Thomas is leading #VegasSummerLeague is scoring and gives @Kevin Durant and @Kyrie Irving credit for their tutelage. https://t.co/1dnyY4ABdh pic.twitter.com/aLjbo1m5QG – 8:21 PM Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
The Phoenix Suns have matched Deandre Ayton’s $133M offer sheet, meaning they cannot trade him until Jan. 15.
Implications on a potential Kevin Durant trade to the Suns here: nydailynews.com/sports/basketb… – 8:19 PM Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
Where the Heat’s roster stands, as it looks like Miami will need help to land either Durant or Mitchell miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia… Also, how the Ayton news could impact things – 8:12 PM Chris Sheridan @sheridanhoops
Who will get traded first? (DeAndre Ayton offer sheet lowers chances of KD to Suns): – 6:46 PM Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
“I think it’s totally ridiculous myself.”
Jerry West is NOT a fan of load management.
@termineradio | @Eddie Johnson pic.twitter.com/lll7QhZhCz – 5:57 PM Evan Sidery @esidery
The Suns still have the assets to make a Kevin Durant trade happen, even with Deandre Ayton’s new max salary potentially on the roster.
A package centered around Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, expiring salaries and all of their future draft picks is enough to make it work legally. – 5:39 PM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
From earlier —Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell? Trade choice not necessarily Heat’s, but comparisons unavoidable. sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… – 5:09 PM Dan Favale @danfavale
masai ujiri seeing the suns’ chances of landing kevin durant implode pic.twitter.com/pQVpbe8T5e – 4:36 PM Dan Favale @danfavale
deandre ayton: *sees chance to maybe play with tyrese haliburton AND complicate the suns’ pursuit of kd* pic.twitter.com/fU2ogFyqxg – 4:30 PM Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
The Pacers are making their play for Deandre Ayton. Here’s everything you need to know about RFA, the max offer sheet, sign-and-trades, and what this means for the Suns and their Kevin Durant dreams: https://t.co/30U1d72eZt pic.twitter.com/p8BESgWnho – 4:29 PM Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
The big question surrounding all of the Kevin Durant noise is whether he would consider playing for a team other than the Suns and Heat? That could dictate how this all plays out. – 4:19 PM Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
Friday at 3 PM ET: @Brian Lewis joins me for a @SpotifyLive session!
Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Adam Silver’s recent press conference (which we both covered) and Summer League Reflections are all sure to be on the discussion list.
More NBA from me: marcstein.substack.com – 4:14 PM NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
“ are not eliminated but it certainly does complicate a lot of things here with Durant.”
—@Bobby Marks on the Suns matching Deandre Ayton’s offer sheet with the Pacers pic.twitter.com/4p9HU8AOAg – 4:08 PM Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
With Ayton off table in Durant talks, not sure why a Phoenix offer built around Mikal Bridges/Cam Johnson/picks would be better than hypothetical Heat offer of Herro, Lowry, picks, other non-Bam and non-Butler assets. We’ll see if Durant cheerfully accepts trade to another city. – 3:57 PM Gery Woelfel @GeryWoelfel
I always thought Golden State would be a great landing spot for Durant, especially since the Warriors have some enticingly good prospects i.e; Poole, Kuminga, Wiseman, Moody. But I’m hearing there has been minimal dialogue so far between Nets and Warriors. – 3:54 PM Brady Hawk @BradyHawk305
Durant labels Suns or Heat as landing spots
Suns now in awkward position with Ayton news
That leaves…one? – 3:54 PM Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
NEW from @Anthony Chiang and me: Heat needs help in Durant, Mitchell pursuits. And Ayton decision today potentially alters Suns’ Durant efforts, which can only help Heat (at least slightly) if Durant gets his way on trade destinations: miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia… – 3:49 PM Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
Cam Thomas focused on improvement amid Nets’ Kyrie Irving-Kevin Durant uncertainty. The second-year guard, who is leading the #NBA summer league in scoring, has taken valuable lessons from his All-Star teammates. Story in @andscape. https://t.co/1dnyY4ABdh #nets #kd #kyrie pic.twitter.com/2VWij7OwQh – 3:29 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I don’t think the Suns can get Kevin Durant without either including DeAndre Ayton or spinning him off for more assets, which they can’t do this offseason if he has indeed signed an offer sheet.
But if they do pull it off? CP3-Booker-KD-Ayton is the instant title favorite. – 3:24 PM Justin Garcia @tmjgarcia
Now that Ayton has signed the offer sheet he can’t be in a sign-and-trade (seemingly killing a Durant trade), can’t be traded to the Pacers at all this season and can veto trades after his 1/15/23 eligible trade date.
The Suns absolutely have to match this and retain the asset. – 3:13 PM Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
The Suns need to match that Deandre Ayton offer. No if ands or buts about it. Kevin Durant deal is still not impossible, but it’ll probably be on the back burner now. Just can’t let him walk for nothing – 3:05 PM NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
Jerry West thinks KD will stay in Brooklyn 👀
(via @Sirius XM NBA) pic.twitter.com/cAEkFpookg – 2:57 PM Chris Broussard @Chris_Broussard
With @EphraimSalaam. Is Adam Silver too player-friendly? Why do folks continue to disrespect Giannis? The Latest on KD and Kyrie & more! Guests: @EddieHouse_50 @Jeff Zillgitt
Catch us live weeknights 7-10p ET on @FoxSportsRadio & @iHeartRadio podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… – 2:24 PM Gery Woelfel @GeryWoelfel
Nets are playing high-stakes poker here in Vegas & many a team would love to join the party and land Durant. But sources insist Miami and Phoenix remain the major players – for now. Is Miami willing to give up Adebayo? Is Phoenix willing to give up Booker? Nets aren’t settling. – 2:09 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I’m bored. Let’s make some schedule predictions:
Opening night:
Bucks at Celtics
Lakers at Warriors
Christmas:
Bucks at Knicks
Grizzlies at 76ers
Celtics at Warriors
Lakers at Clippers
Pelicans at Suns
KD can obviously change things. I want to slot Denver in there somewhere – 1:30 PM Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
If only trading Kevin Durant to the Phoenix #Suns was as simple as it looks on paper (w/videos) azcentral.com/story/sports/n… via @azcentral – 1:07 PM Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
A new episode of the Heat Check podcast: How far should the Heat go to land Durant or Mitchell? And summer league takeaways miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia…
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hea… – 12:02 PM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell? Trade choice not necessarily Heat’s, but comparisons unavoidable sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… Which would be the more likely deal? Which would be the preferable deal? What are the factors that come into play? – 11:54 AM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Goran Dragic: More about individuals than team with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Nets nba.nbcsports.com/2022/07/14/gor… – 10:23 AM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
The July mailbag is up and almost every question is about the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving situations. On their markets, the ‘run it back’ idea, human nature and more: theathletic.com/3422311/2022/0… – 10:20 AM Shandel Richardson @ShandelRich
What Goran Dragic had to say about his Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving experience #miamiheat si.com/nba/heat/miami… – 9:39 AM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell? Trade choice not necessarily Heat’s, but comparisons unavoidable. sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… A side-by-side comparison of two very different players who seemingly are in very similar circumstances. – 9:31 AM Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
“My best guess…he’s not going to be traded. You can’t give enough to get a guy like ”
Jerry West doesn’t think the Nets will be trading KD #NetsWorld
@termineradio | @Eddie Johnson pic.twitter.com/8fYzr78Ehd – 6:52 PM Andrew Greif @AndrewGreif
Darvin Ham greeted Steve Ballmer and Jerry West during a break in play. Some familiarity there as Ham was one of the coach candidates the Clippers interviewed in 2020. pic.twitter.com/f9CvtMI9W5 – 11:43 PM Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Jerry West sitting in between Steve Ballmer and Tom Thibodeau prior to Clippers-Lakers – 10:26 PM

More on this storyline

Prior to that news breaking, Bobby Marks stated, “ are not eliminated but it certainly does complicate a lot of things here with Durant.” He noted that he never believed that Ayton would wind up in Brooklyn because it would hard-cap the Nets and without Ayton in the Suns mix, Phoenix “would have to gut their roster” to get to the $36 million needed to match KD’s salary. -via NetsDaily / July 15, 2022 Is there any indication, as Summer League winds down and GMs head home … or to vacation, that something could happen now? It seems less and less likely, as Nick Friedell said on NBA Today. “In talking not only to Nets personnel but also people across the league in Vegas, nobody thinks this KD thing is going to happen anytime soon,” said the network’s Brooklyn beat writer before offering this caveat. “If I’ve learned anything being around this Nets team, it’s that things can happen in an instance with them. But everybody involved seems to think that this thing is going to going to stretch out a long ways, potentially into the season.” -via NetsDaily / July 15, 2022 Landon Buford: Spurs’ Legend Tony Parker On @KDTrey5 : “What ever decision they are going to make or trade that they make, if they make a trade. They will never get back what they had w KD. KD is one of the best in the history of our game,” says @tonyparker . -via Twitter / July 15, 2022