It turns out that Kevin Durant hasn't played his last game for the Nets.
Almost two months after news broke of Durant's trade request, the Nets released a statement on Tuesday saying that they had met with the 12-time All-Star and "agreed to move forward with our partnership."
In other words, Durant is no longer available.
"We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn," the statement said.
It's yet another stop on what has been a turbulent offseason subway ride for Brooklyn.
While Durant and Kyrie Irving have dominated headlines, the Nets quietly went about their business in free agency. Not only did they re-sign Patty Mills and Nic Claxton, but they also added T.J Warren and acquired Royce O'Neale in a trade with the Jazz.
The result? Perhaps the best team the Nets have had since Durant and Irving decided to move to Brooklyn.
MORE: A reminder of Kevin Durant's undeniable greatness
How good are the Nets with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons?
The Nets have the potential to be really good next season. Like, really good. They'll only go as far as Durant and Irving can take them, but the front office has put the right mix of players around the dynamic duo.
Seth Curry, Joe Harris and Mills are three of the best shooters in the NBA. O'Neale gives the Nets a much-needed 3-and-D wing. Prior to injuries that sidelined him for basically two straight seasons, Warren was an effortless scorer.
And, of course, the Nets still have Ben Simmons, who is expected to be ready for training camp after undergoing back surgery. What version of Simmons will the Nets get? Time will tell, but he has the potential to slide in alongside Durant and Irving quite well.
Defensively, he gives the Nets a legitimate stopper against point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards. (This is your reminder that Simmons finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21. He's highly disruptive and might be the most versatile defender in the league.) His fit isn't as clean offensively, but he'll give the Nets a boost in transition and could thrive next to Durant and Irving in a Draymond Green-like role.
TSN's Steph Noh gave the Nets an A grade when they acquired Simmons at the trade deadline. A lot of what he wrote still applies:
The offensive fit will be a little messier. Simmons works the best with the ball in his hands, but coach Steve Nash wants to play a more free-flowing approach and the Nets already have better facilitators than Simmons on the roster in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. He will have to play mostly in the dunker spot, where he can catch dump-off passes for layups.
One area where Simmons for sure can help the Nets offensively is in transition. They're ranked 27th in points added, via Cleaning the Glass. He is perhaps at his best as a grab-and-go point forward on fast breaks. He can also carry lineups when Durant needs a breather or when Irving misses home games.
With Durant and Irving back on board, the Nets enter the 2022-23 season with the following depth chart:
- PG: Kyrie Irving, Patty Mills
- SG: Royce O'Neale, Seth Curry, Cam Thomas
- SF: Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, Kessler Edwards
- PF: Ben Simmons, T.J. Warren
- C: Nic Claxton, Day'Ron Sharpe
Pretty dang loaded, right? They're light at center, but they're built to play a lot of small ball with Durant and Simmons at the four and five.
With Irving and two shooters surrounding them, those lineups have the potential to be absolutely dynamite.
So . . . you're saying the Nets are going to win the championship?
Steady there. Talented as they look on paper, the Nets do have a few question marks.
Injuries have limited Durant to 90 of a possible 154 games over the last two seasons. Given his age, injury history and the amount of miles he's racked up, availability is a legitimate concern. He also clearly wasn't happy with his situation because he requested a trade.
After not getting what he wanted — don't forget that Durant reportedly gave the franchise an ultimatum — do the Nets have his full commitment?
Irving has been even less available than Durant, appearing in only 83 games over the last couple of seasons. He dealt with some injuries in 2020-21 and was sidelined for most of the 2021-22 season because of his COVID-19 vaccination status. It wasn't long ago that it looked like he had played his last game with the Nets as well.
It's easy to envision Simmons wreaking havoc defensively and getting spoon-fed baskets by Durant and Irving, but the reality is we haven't seen him play in over a year, he's coming off back surgery and his role in Brooklyn is going to look quite different from the one he had in Philadelphia, where he became a three-time All-Star. It's almost certainly going to take him some time to figure it out.
Besides, the Nets were expected to be contenders the last two seasons and came up short both times. Of all teams, they should know that there are no guarantees in the NBA.
