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Opinion: Brooklyn Nets' Decision With Kevin Durant Will Determine Future Of NBA

On Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets announced that they are keeping Kevin Durant and moving forward with their partnership. I believe that this decision could shape the future of the NBA.

Ben Stinar

Opinion: Brooklyn Nets' Decision With Kevin Durant Will Determine Future Of NBA
Opinion: Brooklyn Nets' Decision With Kevin Durant Will Determine Future Of NBA /

Kevin Durant has been the most talked about player in the NBA since ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski hit send on a tweet on June 30. 

Woj on June 30: "Kevin Durant made the trade request directly to Nets owner Joe Tsai today, sources tell ESPN."

There have been tons of reports, and speculation about what the potential outcome would be. 

Would they trade him? 

Would they hold firm? 

Durant is not a classic case of a disgruntled superstar wanting out. 

For starters, he chose to sign with Brooklyn in the summer of 2019. 

He had just been to the NBA Finals three times in a row with the Golden State Warriors, so he had it about as good it gets.

Yet, he chose to leave.

Secondly, the Nets have a roster that (if healthy) is one of the top-five in teams in terms of raw talent in the NBA. 

Durant averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per contest last season. 

He also made his 12th All-Star Game. 

They may have gotten swept in the first-round of the NBA Playoffs, but they did not have Ben Simmons, and Kyrie Irving missed 53 regular season games. 

Next season, the Nets will have Irving for the entire season, and they could potentially have three-time NBA All-Star Simmons ready to go as well.  

It's not like they are a team that he was drafted (or traded) to and he is stuck in a bad spot. 

Lastly, he still has four years on his contract left.

That's right, Durant agreed to an extension with the Nets before the season began. 

If he wanted, he could have simply skipped the extension and signed with a new team in the summer of 2023 (or requested to be traded). 

The Nets have all the power here. 

On Tuesday, it appears as if they won the saga when they released a statement from General Manager Sean Marks. 

Marks via the Nets: "Steve Nash and I, together with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday. We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn."

While that means that the Nets are headed into the season with Durant, and the speculation is now over, I believe that a lot of how this plays out will determine the future of the NBA. 

Just because Durant is coming back to the team doesn't mean he necessarily wants to, he might just have to. 

At 34 years old, he cannot be wasting the final prime years of his career by sitting out for a season (or four). 

However, the way he plays and interacts with the organization will be something to watch. If contracts stop meaning anything, and everyone can change their mind after signing and force their way out, then how can there be a league? 

Unlike the MLB, there are not contracts that span for over a decade, which is a good thing. This keeps players and team's options open at all times. 

Durant's deal is considered very long for the NBA, and his age is something that makes it all that more unique. Everyone in all walks of life agree to sign contracts. If Durant ends up fulfilling all (or at least most) of his contract with the Nets, then that will be a big win for the future of the league. 

On the contrary, if this becomes a disaster, then the future for the NBA could become very interesting. 

Published
Ben Stinar
BEN STINAR

Ben Stinar is the NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation.

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