Right now, the Brooklyn Nets' Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving is the most feared trio in all of the NBA. As it turns out, however, KD could have actually formed a Big 3 with the Nets many years ago. Apparently, when the Nets traded for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from the Boston Celtics back in 2013, they always had Kevin Durant in mind.
According to NBA insider Matt Sulivan, it was none other than Nets former general manager Billy King who made the revelation about Brooklyn's plans to swoop in on Durant following their blockbuster trade for KG and Pierce:
“The focus was Durant,” King said (h/t Lee Tran of Fadeaway World). “It wasn't LeBron, it was: Do EVERYTHING we can to put ourselves in position to get Durant… I was in a position where he saw me—and knew. You just make sure that, if you do everything right, they take notice.
“We had done a great job with the branding and opening, and if we can be a playoff team, we can get on national TV, and when it came time, we would be able to get in the conversation.”
As King's statement touched on above, there were also rumors circling that the Nets had their eye on LeBron James, who at that time, was coming to the end of his contract with the Miami Heat. Apparently, LeBron was never on their radar. KD was always their man.
That ploy failed sensationally, however, and the Nets ended up blowing up their roster not long after. Fast forward several years later and here we are today. The Nets may have failed to bring Durant to Brooklyn back in 2016 (he decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors as a free agent), but somehow, they still managed to follow through on their plans many years later. This just goes to show just how much the Nets organization has been dreaming to have KD as their cornerstone superstar.
The question now is this: now that he has arrived, will Kevin Durant deliver for the Nets?
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