NOTHING appears to be occuring on the Durant Trade Front, and Kevin's ennuir appears [APPEARS] to be connected to Kyrie's ongoing shit storm, and trade requests and big bluff that he might not pick up his option and sign with the Lakers for minimal vets money.
The package Danny Ainge leveraged from the Wolves for Rudy Gobert completely changed EVERYTHING in terms of top tier movement, and clearly, Sean Marks has dug in his heels with both Kyrie and Kevin, and, stay tuned, but that as we speak, he is taking more of a Daryl Morey position with both of these motherfuckers, where he is just going to wait them out, refer them to their contractural obligations, and if no play, no pay.
Hey, Irving and Durant are modern independent business entities, and not unlike owners, they have every right to optimize their situation, their brand.
Still, the idea that the Nyets are somehow obligated to acceed to their every whim, has been thoroughly discredited. There is not much the Nyets have failed to oblige K & D, from firing Kenny Atkinson, to trading for Harden, to allowing Irving to simply take a two week off for no good reason so he could party in midseason, to paying KD what, like $35-40 million for him to sit out and rehab for an entire season and a good part of another, to allowing Kyrie to be a part time player during the pandemic.
The Warriors have a core of championship vets in Curry [34], Thompson [32] and Green [32], filling out their starting five with young vets Andrew Wiggins [27] and Kevon Looney [26].
And during the period the Warriors waited out significant rehab time for Thompson and Curry and to a lesser degree, Green, they remained patient, and did not sunder their future in the name of quick fixes.
Having watched James Wiseman's stunning return the other night, and taken notice of his level of skill and size, the Warriors have demnonstrated without question--and they have the rings to prove it--that they have a plan and a proven culture, and the likelihood that they would package ANDREW WIGGINS and some combination of JORDAN POOLE, MOSES MOODY, JONATHAN KUMINGA, JAMES WISEMAN and [AND] Draft Capital for the privilege of bringing back a 34 year old martinet who, while unquestionably one of the all time greats, bailed on the Warriors in 2019, after being an honored part of a starting five which reached the NBA FINALS in all three of his seasons with the team, decisively winning championships in the first two of those seasons.
Even seeing this raised as a possibility makes me sick to my stomach.
And I may be wrong, and it wouldn't be the last time, but I think it is dawning on Kevin Durant that he has no fucking leverage.
He wants to play for Phoenix? Miami?
Good luck.
Phoenix ain't parting with Devin Booker. Miami ain't parting with Butler or Bam.
Toronto has been floated, but there is no way they are parting with Scottie Barnes.
It goes on and on and on...
Maybe Kevin and Kyrie just suck it up and get down for 2022-23 with Ben Simmons and committ to making a playoff run. This whole superstar hissy fit is a farce. Kevin and Kyrie ain't going anywhere.
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