The Kyrie Irving-Kevin Durant duo officially was split Sunday when the Nets traded the former to the Mavericks. In fact, neither player calls Brooklyn home anymore, as Durant on Thursday was traded to the Phoenix Suns.
But is there a chance the NBA superstars’ separation is only temporary?
Brian Windhorst seemingly believes it’s a real possibility. After Durant landed in the desert, the league insider reminded the basketball world of Irving’s previous interest in the Suns.
“If you think this is over, it ain’t over,” Windhorst said on ESPN, as transcribed by Real GM. “Kyrie really was interested in being in Phoenix, so just start thinking about that.”
Irving is playing on an expiring contract, so he’s in line to be available for Phoenix or any other interested team this summer. But we should see a highly motivated Irving for the remainder of the season, which could remove him from the Suns’ price range and make the Mavs more motivated to sign him long term. The Chris Paul factor does make things interesting, though, as Phoenix surely would match rather give at least $15.8 million (Paul’s guaranteed money next season) to a point guard who isn’t in his late 30s and injured all the time.
The remarks Irving made after his Dallas debut indicated he and Durant were prepared to go their separate ways and no longer have a strong desire to play with each other. But as the star point guard said himself, things in the NBA change quickly and sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder.
