Drama between Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets is over. We think. For now, at least.
On Tuesday morning, the Nets released a statement on behalf of general manager Sean Marks that Marks, coach Steve Nash, owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai met with Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman met in Los Angeles on Monday and "have agreed to move forward with our partnership."
No more trade requests, no more rumors. For now.
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Durant's standoff with Brooklyn's front office, one that didn't end how he apparently intended, has kept free agents and rosters in limbo, as well as how we view the NBA's true contenders one month before training camp begins. The Warriors already should have been seen as both the best team in the Western Conference, and the league as a whole. That's even more true now.
Through the rumor mill, Durant reportedly had suitors from a number of Western Conference teams. They just wouldn't give up what the Nets hoped in any hypothetical trade. He'll remain on the other side of the country, in a time zone three hours ahead.
The Phoenix Suns won't have Durant. Neither will the Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans or any other Western Conference team. Nor will the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat or any other hopeful Eastern Conference contender.
He's still a Net, and on perhaps his deepest and best roster yet since joining the franchise in the summer of 2019.
Golden State Warriors
Brooklyn's Big Three of Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons should have a balanced diet of everything you'd want: Two elite scorers and offensive players overall, plus one defensive star and non-stop topics for "First Take." In free agency, the Nets brought back center Nic Claxton and point guard Patty Mills on two-year contracts. They also added scoring threat T.J. Warren on a one-year prove-it deal, and acquired forward Royce O'Neal from the Utah Jazz.
All of that is on top of having sharpshooters in Seth Curry and Joe Harris, as well as strong depth pieces in Cam Thomas, Day'Ron Sharpe and Kessler Edwards.
None of that should even make the Nets the clear-cut favorites in the East yet. They have been the paper champions the moment Durant and Irving decided to team up together, and that hasn't even propped them to the conference finals once. Until they prove this can all work, the Celtics, Heat and even the Milwaukee Bucks all have strong cases against them.
When the Nets faced the Warriors the first time last season with a team that didn't feature Irving or Simmons, but did have James Harden, Golden State ran them out of the gym at Barclays Center for the 15th game of the season. This season, the Warriors will face Durant and the Nets twice in the regular season -- first in Brooklyn on Dec. 21 and then at Chase Center one month later on Jan. 22. Those could be NBA Finals previews, or just two more days for a boost in ratings across the board.
Either way, barring injuries, both games should include a plethora of stars, as well as the handful of players who were rumored to be moved in any possible Durant-Warriors reunion. That means Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman, Jordan Poole and Moses Moody. All five should have those two games circled.
All five are expected to be vital pieces to the Warriors defending their title next season, and possibly for years to come. Some more than others, all while Durant has another four years left on his contract with the Nets. The Warriors' front office will have a headache on their hands trying to pay them all, as well as others, and keep the band together. That's for them to deal with, though.
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With Durant and the Nets' front office hashing it out, the order of operations becomes more clear in the West. On the other side of The Association, this only makes everything more convoluted and can only confuse the computers that much more.
As for the champs? It's just another day to sit back and watch the world of NBA Twitter burn, one tweet at a time.
Must be nice.