“How did we get into this situation about trade when he chose?” the source asked rhetorically. “Here’s the situation. He chose, meaning he had and has every intention of playing with the Brooklyn Nets. KD decides he wants out and now everyone is talking about trading Kyrie, right? “Kyrie has not requested a trade. Now, if the Nets don’t want him, that’s a whole different story. Kyrie hasn’t said he wants a trade. Choose. [So where did] trade talks come from? Is it because KD asked for a trade and now everyone is like trade Ky? Kyrie chose.” Indeed, the futures of the two superstars have come together on the assumption that the Nets are looking for trade partners for both. Many of the rumors center around an Irving deal that would send the guard to the Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook and draft compensation. (In the latest rumor, from Jovan Buha of the Athletic, the Nets want two first-rounders, while the Lakers have countered with a first-rounder and a second-rounder.) “Kyrie wants to play. … He wants to win a championship, and he wants to play,” the source told The Post, adding of the Durant situation, “I think when KD said he wanted a trade, he didn’t say I’m going to trade where Kyrie goes ». Lewis also addressed the state of the Nets’ relationship with Durant, who requested a trade on June 30, one day before the start of his four-year, $198 million contract. At the time there were reports that Durant hadn’t spoken to the Nets front office in weeks. Durant largely went dark after that, not responding to the other stars trying to gauge his interest in working with them. But the Nets worked with his business partner Rich Kleiman in an effort to facilitate a deal — but neither side closed the door on a potential return to Brooklyn. Now, Lewis — and Stefan Bondy of the Daily News — say there’s been contact between Team Durant and the franchise’s ownership/management. So far, Brooklyn has received plenty of offers, but none he likes. The Nets are looking for a young All-Star and a slew of picks — including four champions and trades — in exchange for Durant. But, of course, it is better to convince him to stay. With all the relevant parties in Las Vegas — including Tuesday night’s owners’ meetings — Nets general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai can sit down and talk face-to-face with whoever they need. Lewis suggested that indeed without a trade for Durant on the horizon — and with NBA GMs heading off on vacation after Summer League — they might be cool. Lewis’ story and Bondy’s tweet follow Ian Eagle’s podcast on Monday, also suggesting there is some hope of continuing things for the 2022-23 season. “[W]Every day that goes by, I think there’s a greater chance that the two sides will find some common ground,” Eagle said on a Canadian podcast, “may decide it’s in both sides’ best interests to play this out for a year. , the length of Kyrie Irving’s contract, see if they can win a championship with the group they’re putting together, then go back and reassess if this is something worth revisiting.” As we’ve noted, none of the key players — Durant, Irving, Sean Marks and Joe Tsai — have said anything publicly that would prove an obstacle to resuming what is a tangled dialogue. Of course, there’s also no detail on why Durant wants to trade in the first place or how things got to this stage. Lewis also asked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for his opinion on KD’s decision to request a trade before his extension even began. Asked Adam Silver his reaction to Kevin Durant’s request: “There are always closed-door conversations between players and team representatives. But we don’t like to see players asking for trades and we don’t like to see it play out like this is.” #Nets — Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) July 13, 2022 Silver added, “It’s one of those issues that as we go through this round of collective bargaining – we intend to talk to our players’ union and see if there are any solutions to it… We don’t want to see it go right now .”
