DURANT LOOKING FOR A NEW TEAM
Kevin Durant may be taking his quest for more titles elsewhere.
Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision that undoubtedly will have teams scrambling to put together offers for the perennial All-Star.
The Nets have been working with Durant to find a trade partner, and he has multiple teams on his preferred list, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither the player nor Brooklyn revealed any details publicly.
ESPN first reported Durant’s trade request, citing Phoenix and Miami as two of his preferred destinations. The bombshell came just hours before the NBA’s freeagent period for this summer was set to begin.
The news also came exactly three years to the day after Durant announced that he was joining Brooklyn in a social-media post — a move that came June 30, 2019.
Durant is a 12-time AllStar, four-time scoring champion, three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA champion — those rings coming with Golden State, the team he was with before joining Brooklyn. He has four years and nearly $200 million remaining on his contract, which means that it may take a haul of players, draft picks or possibly both for a team to acquire him.
Durant has played 14 seasons, not including one year when he sat out while recovering from a torn Achilles.
And even at his age — Durant will turn 34 on Sept. 29, around the time training camps open this fall — he is still one of the best players in the game, his 6-foot-10 frame making his jump shot almost unstoppable by any defender.
New cap numbers
The NBA set the new salary cap, luxury tax and other numbers that will be used this coming season and go into effect today.
The cap is $123.655 million, the tax level is $150.267 million. The minimum team salary level is $111.29 million and the exceptions were set as wel. The non-taxpayer mid-level is $10.49 million, taxpayer mid-level is $6.479 million, and the mid-level for
a team with room under the cap is $5.401 million.
Notable
Nikola Jokic has gone from draft pick No. 41, to twotime MVP, and now the holder of the largest contract in NBA history.
Jokic and the Denver Nuggets agreed to a $264 supermax extension, according to an AP source.
It begins with the 2023-24 season and continues through 2027-28 — when, should Jokic exercise his option for that season, he could make roughly $60 million.
Jokic’s extension happened on the same day
Bradley Beal and Washington agreed on a five-year contract that could pay the Wizards guard as much as $251 million.
In addition to keeping Beal, the Wizards also agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with guard Delon Wright.
The Clippers agreed to deals to bring back two of their own in wings Nicolas Batum and Amir Coffey, while losing backup center
Isaiah Hartenstein to New York on a two-year contract worth $16.7 million.
The Lakers added a trio of former first-round picks in the first hour of free agency. The team agreed to deals with Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and Damian Jones.
The Lakers also added free-agent forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, according to sources.
Brooklyn acquired forward Royce O’Neale from
Utah in exchange for a conditional 2023 first-round draft pick.
Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. will be sidelined up to six months after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. The fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft is coming off his best season yet, playing a career-high 78 games after being limited to 11 games in his third NBA season.
Anfernee Simons, who had a breakout season for the injury-plagued Trail Blazers last year — taking advantage of his opportunity, and then some — agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract to remain Portland.
Lu Dort, undrafted three years ago and someone who made about $4 million combined in his three seasons with Oklahoma City, will stay with the Thunder for five years on a deal worth nearly $88 million.
Jalen Brunson, as had been widely speculated given his deep ties to the Knicks — his father played there, for starters — agreed to sign with New York, on a deal that ESPN reported would be worth $104 million over four years.
Malik Monk will sign a two-year contract with Sacramento, the L.A. Times reported. The contract is expected to be worth nearly $20 million, more than the Lakers could’ve offered under salary-cap rules.
P.J. Tucker is reuniting with Philadelphia General Manager Daryl Morey and — assuming he re-signs, as planned — James Harden as
well. Tucker agreed to a three-year deal with the 76ers for $33 million. Morey, Tucker and Harden were together with the Houston Rockets; Harden declared free agency Wednesday with the intention of coming back to Philadelphia.
Bobby Portis (four years, $49 million) is returning to Milwaukee, and the Bucks are adding veteran guard Joe Ingles as well. Ingles is signing a one-year deal, according to his wife,
Renae Ingles, who tweeted that “CEO of the house, Renae Ingles, is thrilled for Joe and their family.”
Dallas and JaVale McGee — a three-time NBA champion and an Olympic gold medalist as well — agreed on a contract for two seasons and a third at McGee’s option worth about $20 million. McGee has played for eight NBA teams and is heading to Dallas for a second time; he played 34 games there in 2015-16.
Miami will retain Victor Oladipo on a one-year, $11 million deal and Dewayne Dedmon on a two-year deal for about $9 million, though the second year has conditional protections.
Toronto is keeping forwards Chris Boucher (three years, $36 million) and Thaddeus Young (two years, $16 million).
Gary Harris signed with the Orlando Magic, the team said, with the sides agreeing on two years for $26 million for the guard. The Magic are also keeping center on a two-year deal.