NBA Notes: Nets, Kevin Durant, Heat, Clippers

Nets

As crazy as it sounds, it appears the Nets have not given up on the possibility of Kevin Durant returning to the team in 2022-23. At least, not entirely.

“What’s kind of developed over those 47 days is we now kind of have two different negotiations,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on NBA Today, via RealGM. “One, of course, is with all those teams interested in Kevin Durant and the Nets. We just haven’t seen significant traction with any of those deals. The Nets’ asking price is very high. Their leverage for getting those teams who are interested in offering so much just hasn’t materialized.

“The other negotiation that is now developing is between Durant and the Nets. That separate negotiation about what it would like for him to come back. That’s what a big part of the discussion he had with owner Joe Tsai in London about 10, 11 days ago was. Joe Tsai and the Nets believe they have a really good team. They don’t believe they have a good trade for Kevin Durant. They want him to consider coming back. But Durant has very clearly made it known he doesn’t want to play for the Nets under the current situation with the current coach and current GM.

“You have to ask yourself, what is the avenue? What is the path for Kevin Durant to move forward with the Nets? Because he’s been told no on trade. He’s been told no on firing Steve Nash. He’s been told no on firing Sean Marks. So where do we go from here?”

We will have more on Durant as the news becomes available. Until then, be sure to follow along at this link.

Heat

Tyler Herro said he’s not bothered by the constant trade rumors. He will just continue to prepare for the season the same as he always does.

“I mean, every summer, that’s just what it is,” Herro said of the rumors, via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I mean, ever since I’ve been here, my name’s been in rumors. So rumors, like I said last summer, they don’t bother me. I’m just getting ready for this season and whether I’m on the Heat or somewhere else, I’m getting ready for the season.”

Herro recently has been mentioned in chatter involving Durant and the Nets, as well as Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz. He is eligible for a contract extension that would pay him well over $100 million.

“As you get older and more years in the league,” Herro said, via Winderman, “you realize this is what comes with the business. You could be in one city one day, the next city the next day. But at the end of the day, it’s about me and getting better every single day in the summer. Like I said, what team I’m on, I’m ready to play.”

• The Heat announced that WQAM 560-AM will become their new radio home. “The new agreement will result in the majority of Miami Heat regular season and all postseason games moving to AM 560 Sports WQAM (WQAM-AM) beginning with the 2022-23 season,” the team announced in a statement.

Clippers

Julius Erving cited Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard as his current favorite NBA player, dating back to Leonard’s days with Tim Duncan and the Spurs.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s kind of like a mutual admiration,” Erving said, via Farbod Esnaashari of SI.com. “I really admire him, I haven’t sat down or had dinner with him or lunch or anything like that. We connected All-Star weekend during the top 75 [celebration]. It’s always just a cordiality there because he’s a favorite guy that I like to watch in the NBA. So I’ve gone on record and saying that, I don’t know if he’s heard about it or not.”

As for players he looked up to, Erving cited the late Bill Russell. Like Russell, Erving wore the No. 6, recently retired by the NBA.

“Bill Russell was that guy for me,” Erving said, via Esnaashari. “He met me in college and he always extended a hand of friendship. Every time I was with him I was always picking his brain. How do you bridge between 30 and 40, how do you bridge between 40 and 50? How do you bridge between people so on and so forth? I think it would be a little bit the other way around. In him questioning me like that or pursuing that type of information, I would learn a whole lot about him naturally. How he processes.”