It’s the early bird that catches the Slim Reaper.
Right?
RIGHT?
RIGHT?
The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly hoping so. According to the New York Daily News‘ Stefan Bondy, the Nets plan to chase Kevin Durant when he becomes a free agent in 2016:
On Friday , the Nets will chase Kevin Durant around the Barclays Center court, hoping to contain the NBA’s most dynamic scorer. And some two years from now, they likely will be joining the crucial chase for his signature on a contract.
The impending Durant free agency bonanza should start picking up steam next season and will undoubtedly engulf the NBA in the summer of 2016. And make no mistake: the Nets are targeting Durant, the 25-year-old offensive juggernaut, even if it’s too early to predict their odds.
The Nets could be committed to no salary when Durant becomes a free agent, depending on whether Deron Williams picks up his one-year option for the 2016-17 season. Everybody else is off the books.
Nothing like showing faith in your current team, right?
Obviously the Nets aren’t where they want to be or were supposed to be. Bringing in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to play with Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez hasn’t made them contenders. At three games under .500, they’re still left fighting for a lower-lwever playoff spot. If they’re already thinking about 2016, it’s safe to say faith in their ability to continue turning things around isn’t high.
That said, it’s not like this wouldn’t be their plan even if they were the best team in the Eastern Conference. It’s Kevin freaking Durant, the second-best player in the NBA currently playing like the best player in the NBA. Of course they’re going to chase him. Twenty-nine other teams, including the Thunder, would want to chase him too. And any team with cap space is going to chase him.
In essence, this isn’t really news. It’s common sense. Predictable. But is it possible?
Bondy talks about how Brooklyn’s books could be clear by 2016, and he’s not wrong. An absolute clean slate, however, is unlikely.
The Nets hold a team option on Mason Plumlee worth just over $2.3 million. Whether they pick it up is anyone’s guess. Seems like they would. Either way, he’s a small fish. The story is Williams, who can terminate the last year of his contract in 2016 and explore free agency. If he does that, the Nets’ books could be completely clean.
Sounds good, right? It’s also unlikely. Make that less than unlikely.
Williams isn’t going to pass on $22.3 million. There’s just not a chance. This side of the CBA, given his injury history, he wouldn’t even come close to matching that kind of salary—not even if he started playing like an All-Star again.
Fortunately for Brooklyn, Williams and Plumlee combine for under $25 million, giving it more than enough room to offer Durant a max contract. That is, provided it’s super conservative until 2016.
That means no long-term contracts. None that extend beyond 2015-16. Re-signing Lopez, when he becomes a free agent in 2015 or 2016 is likely out of the question. So it’s going to take great restraint on the Nets’ behalf if they wish to remain in play for Durant.
After that, they have to hope he wants to 1) leave the Thunder and is 2) willing to play alongside Williams. Tall orders were never so, well, tall.
There’s nothing the Nets can do that guarantees they’ll land Durant. Creating the means to land him is the only power they have. Beyond that, all they can do is hope that this, if it’s true, is a plan worthwhile.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
