“[Coach] Steve Nash and I, with me [governors] Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai met with Kevin Durant and Rich Klayman in Los Angeles yesterday,” Marks said in a statement. “We agreed to proceed with our cooperation. We are focused on basketball with one collective goal: to build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.” Durant initially requested a June 30 trade and reiterated that desire in a meeting with Joe Tsai in London, sources confirmed to ESPN, earlier this month. During that meeting, Durant wanted Tsai to choose between him and the trusted brains of Nash and Marks. Instead, Nash and Marks will keep their jobs, while Durant will remain in Brooklyn as the four-year, $198 million extension he signed last offseason this season.
1 Related The Nets spent most of the offseason dealing with upheavals from stars Durant and Kyrie Irving. Irving, who played in 29 games last season after opting not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, created a list of teams he’d like the Nets to consider working with for a sign-and-trade deal. However, no viable trade materialized and Irving opted into the final year of his contract. The Nets could still trade him as his contract expires (though Irving would have no official say in a potential landing spot) and have until June 30 of next year to work out an extension before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. With Irving and Durant still on the team, the Nets will look to improve on last year’s first round playoff exit and hope Ben Simmons will be a part of that. Simmons was traded to Brooklyn in a deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia, but he has yet to make his Nets debut. Simmons underwent a microdiscectomy procedure in May to address pain traced to a herniated disc in his lower back, but is expected to be healthy for training camp. According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Nets’ odds to win the NBA championship increased from 18-1 to 9-1 after the Nets announced that Durant would be staying. 9-1 odds push Brooklyn ahead of Los Angeles Lakers for fourth-best odds to win title behind Celtics (+450), Warriors (+650), Suns (+800), Clippers (+800) and Bucks (+800).
