We are in the final months before the NBA comes back to our screens and planning for the 2022-23 season is underway. Teams have already shaped their rosters for next season but some key moves can still be made around the league.
Players like Collin Sexton, Donovan Mitchell, and Kyrie Irving all have uncertain futures. However, the biggest talking point is easily Kevin Durant. Durant requested a trade from the Nets on July 30 and the team has since been unable to find a team that will match their asking price for the star. KD is one of the best players in the league and has 4 years left on his contract after he signed an extension last season.
The Nets have played hardball so far and we may enter a situation where KD doesn’t report to team activities to force his move through. It seems the NBA can’t trust the Nets enough for a marquee TV slot so far, as the NBA’s Christmas Games slate featured a lack of the Nets.
The team has 2 high-profile stars on the roster but it seems even the NBA thinks those stars won’t be available for the team come Christmas, with insider Keith Smith suggesting the league is avoiding putting a semi-rebuilding team like the Nets into a marquee slot.
It's notable that the Brooklyn Nets aren't playing on Christmas Day. Clearly the NBA doesn't feel comfortable giving a marquee slot to a team that could be in at least semi-rebuilding mode come Christmas.
(Yes, I know who else is playing. Feel free to make your jokes anyway.)
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) August 14, 2022
The Christmas slate features many stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Joel EMbiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, and many others, so KD won’t be missed.
If the Nets were not looking as questionable as they are, the NBA could have easily slotted them into a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The New York Knicks will be hosting them but it may have been a better matchup to play them against Philly considering the history of both the teams with the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade.
Where KD goes next is going to be interesting to track, with Christmas playing teams like the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers still invested in trading for the star forward.
