NBA-Superstar Kevin Durant makes a spectacular move from the Brooklyn Nets to the Phoenix Suns. This makes the Suns a no-brainer for the title, while the Nets’ master plans have finally failed.
Kyrie Irving was one of the first to comment on the spectacular change in the NBA on Thursday (02/09/2023): “I’m glad he’s out of there“Irving said of Kevin Durant, his teammate at the Brooklyn Nets until a few days ago. Irving sounded a bit like Durant had successfully freed himself from the clutches of a kidnapping squad.
Irving himself had recently said goodbye to Brooklyn, in the direction of Dallas Mavericks. Shortly before the so-called trade deadline, Thursday 3 p.m. EST, the Nets also let Durant go, the last remaining of the former superstar trio with Durant, Irving and James Harden.
Durant to the Suns – Nets in shards
Like the usually well-informed broadcaster”ESPNAs previously announced, Durant is moving to the Phoenix Suns. In return, Brooklyn will receive three players from Phoenix and various rights to first-round picks in future drafts, as the basis for a complete restart. The title project started with great ambitions and the move to Brooklyn in 2012 the Nets is finally in pieces.
Durant had already approached Nets management in the summer after Harden’s departure about a possible change. Now his confidence that Brooklyn would have a real chance at the title seemed to have finally been exhausted. The fact that the Nets agreed to a trade at the second attempt may actually have seemed like the end of a long odyssey to Durant.
Durant in MVP form but unhappy with the Nets
Two-time NBA champion with the Warriors and two-time Finals MVP is still one of the absolute superstars in the league: In the current season, his average is again just under 30 points per game. In November, he matched an old record set by Michael Jordan when he scored at least 25 points in his 16th straight game.
However, after arriving in Brooklyn in 2019, Durant never came close to winning a title. On the one hand, because he was injured for a long time. But also because of the constant unrest that the two other capricious stars fabricated: James Harden was repeatedly the subject of trade rumors before he actually made his move to Philadelphia.
Kyrie Irving missed many games during the corona pandemic because of a refused vaccination. Then last December, Irving caused a scandal with a Twitter post when he shared a link to a film with anti-Semitic narratives. For Durant, now 34 years old, it was also about the “legacy”, the legacy he will one day leave in the NBA history books. With the Nets he had to fear more and more that he could possibly waste his last big chance at a championship there.
Durant, Paul and Booker – new super team in Phoenix
He’ll probably get that in Phoenix now: The Suns have created a new super team with Durant’s arrival. With the experienced playmaker Chris Paul, Durant has one of the best preparers in NBA history at his side. The 38-year-old is still chasing his unfulfilled dream of the NBA title. There are also two other dangerous scorers in Devin Booker and center DeAndre Ayton.
Two years ago, the Suns were only defeated in the final series by the Milwaukee Bucks stopped. With Durant as a new signing, the chances in Phoenix of winning the championship for the first time in the club’s history have suddenly increased. ESPN commenter Stephen A Smithwho likes to make headlines, immediately named the Suns “absolute top favorites in the West” – and thus also to the title contender. There was hardly anyone who wanted to contradict him.