The Brooklyn Nets officially tore down their foundation in the early hours Thursday morning as they reportedly traded superstar Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns some 14 hours before the NBA trade deadline.
The Nets on Tuesday reportedly were turning down inquiries for Durant, but the 13-time NBA All-Star shared his preference was to be sent to the desert and after previously holding Mikal Bridges out of the trade, Phoenix added him to the package to push it across the finish line. It marked Brooklyn's second blockbuster in less than a week.
While the entire Eastern Conference should celebrate Durant's departure out West, perhaps no team will be more pleased than the Boston Celtics. There's multiple reasons why the Celtics benefit from the Durant deal, much like they did when Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks over the weekend.
First and foremost, the fifth-seeded Nets no longer present the challenge they did just one week ago. Let's not forget Brooklyn had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference prior to Irving's trade. And let's also not forget that during a stretch from Nov. 27 to Jan. 8, the Nets won 18 of their 20 games including 12 straight with a healthy Durant and Irving. They were, again, rightfully considered to be a NBA Finals contender. And that was despite all the previous drama stemming from Durant's offseason trade request, Irving's anti-Semitic headlines, the firing of Steve Nash and hiring of a new coach. During that span, Durant and Irving showed their on-court ability could trump all.
Well, that's all over. Sure, the Nets got back Spencer Dinwiddie in the Irving trade and Bridges in the Durant trade, among other contributors and draft picks, but their roster now lacks the high-end talent it takes to win a title. BetMGM moved the Nets from 7-1 to 100-1 to win the NBA championship dating back to Irving's trade request last Friday.
In addition to the 2022-23 outlook, the Nets also took a step back for years to come, which for the Celtics could coincide with the respective primes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Brooklyn received a ton of draft capital in the two deals including four unprotected first-round picks for Durant (2023, 2025, 2027, 2029) and a 2028 pick swap, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. However, it's probably fair to assume the Celtics aren't worrying themselves about Brooklyn landing the best present-day high school freshman in a half decade. And not all first-rounders are surefire hits, of course. More importantly, after Thursday morning's deal the Nets no longer have one of the best players on the planet under contract for the next four seasons. Durant, who is merely a half season into his four-year, $194 million pact, single-handily would make the Nets a team to watch out for regardless of who is around him.
The once-promising Nets future which included a Big 3 of James Harden, Irving and Durant now will be viewed as one of the biggest failures in league history.
Lastly, and admittedly this might not pertain to all Green Teamers but rather the majority, the Celtics no longer have to hear themselves mentioned in trade talks for Durant. This offseason, the Celtics were involved in trade speculation with reports specifically including Brown and other pieces for Durant. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens poured cold water on them, but the idea was already out there. In recent days, after a mostly quiet first half of the season, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith again lit the match by saying he heard Boston again was having conversations with Brooklyn. Smith specifically name-dropped Brown. It re-ignited the whole debate whether the Celtics should make the trade -- they shouldn't have.
Now that's all over, too.
And all to the Celtics' benefit.
