Kevin Durant Is Definitely Over the Nets

Let’s start with the obvious here. I don’t know anything more about Kevin Durant than you do. I’m an online sports betting expert, not a Nets beat writer. I have exactly zero NBA sources.

Still, it’s pretty obvious that the Durant situation has gotten very messy. The Nets are currently 25-to-1 in next year’s NBA championship odds market, which is quite the fall from where they were just a few months ago.

You know, when Brooklyn was the favorite to beat Boston, the No. 2 seed, in the first round? The same Boston team that almost won the Finals? Remember that?

But Durant doesn’t want to carry the Nets’ water anymore. He wants out. And the betting markets have responded accordingly.

Who can blame him? The organization offloaded James Harden because it had to, but they got back an equally toxic asset in Ben Simmons. The Kyrie Irving thing has been weird for years at this point. The supporting pieces have seen better days. 

NBA Summer League is a fun distraction, but the NBA drama of free agency and moving teams have become far more gleefully entertaining than the actual on-court product. 

It’s a strange time to be an NBA fan.

Kevin Durant: Trade Rumors Are Everywhere for Brooklyn Nets’ Best Player

The Kevin Durant trade talk started pretty much immediately after the free agency period opened. 

The fact that Durant has the entire extension period of his contract with the Nets still in front of him does not appear to have affected his demands. Such is the NBA in 2022.

What is Kevin Durant’s age? He’ll be 34 before next season starts. But that doesn’t seem to have affected Brooklyn’s appetite for hefty trade requests for those inquiring about a Durant trade.

For instance, recent reporting has revealed that the Nets were willing to deal Durant to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and four future first-round picks. Which is… well, a lot.

There's a few thoughts on the possible Kevin Durant trade that @NickAshooh and @MrazCBS needed to get of their chest😤

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— BetQL (@betqlapp) July 8, 2022

Kevin Durant: Contract Still Has Four Years Remaining

No one with eyes is questioning the Kevin Durant stats. He’s an incredible player that makes any team a contender almost overnight – assuming they don’t have to give away too much to get him. (They probably do.)

But one of the key problems with acquiring Durant is that he is an aging star with a growing series of injuries and maladies. He also has a full four years left on his current contract. 

Kevin Durant’s contract is set to pay out just shy of $200,000 million by 2026. 

At this point, Durant actually looks a lot like an aging baseball player – sure, he’s still awesome now, but there’s no way he’s going to be worth that gargantuan number in his late 30s. 

Teams have to be willing to pay the legacy tax toward the end of his career to get the last couple of great years out of him now. Assuming he stays healthy, of course.

It’s not yet clear which teams, if any, are willing to do that. And until someone steps forward, the Kevin Durant media circus will probably continue. 

Well, at least until we move on to NFL betting lines.