The Brooklyn Nets pulled off a massive win on Thursday behind another masterful performance by Kevin Durant. KD led the charge for the Nets in a crucial 109-107 win over Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
The good news for Brooklyn is that they're finally going to get Kyrie Irving back on Sunday after completing what turned out to be an eight-game team-imposed suspension. Add the fact that Ben Simmons has been playing some pretty good basketball of late, and it's hard to deny that the Nets are all of a sudden looking like a real threat in the East again. So much so, that these developments could have a significant impact on Durant's future with the team.
According to ESPN's NBA guru Adrian Wojnarowski, whatever the Nets do over the course of the next few weeks or so should have a major effect on KD's willingness to remain in Brooklyn:
“With Kyrie Irving returning on Sunday against Memphis and Brooklyn, I think the clock really starts for this Nets organization about whether they can keep this group together,” Woj said (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter). “… What the rest of the league is looking at is how long before perhaps Kevin Durant asks out again in Brooklyn.”
We all know how Durant nearly made his Nets exit this past summer only for him to do a complete U-turn before the new season started. At this point, it wouldn't be surprising if KD ends up making a similar demand in the near future, especially considering how much drama there is within the organization right now.
“The trade deadline is February 9th, and for the Nets, it's imperative that they start to take the shape of a team that can start to climb the standings in the East, stay on the floor together, and so much of that it's based on Ben Simmons,” Woj said.
"For the Nets, its imperative that they start to take the shape of a team that can start to climb the standings in the East, stay on the floor together & it's based on Ben Simmons"@wojespn on the impact of Kyrie Irving's return and Kevin Durant's futurepic.twitter.com/06im66OxJ5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 19, 2022
We can all count on KD being KD. No matter what, this man is going to be one of the best players in the NBA night in and night out. To some extent, the same can be said of Kyrie Irving — it's just that he needs to steer clear of his next scandal for at least the next few months. Ben Simmons, on the other hand, just needs to get his head and his body right. If he keeps on playing like this, then it seems that the sky is indeed the limit for the Nets.
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