Founder and CEO of The Ringer Bill Simmons said that Kevin Durant could be returning to the Golden State Warriors, according to his sources.
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons discussed the possibility of the Brooklyn Nets trading Durant to the Warriors. While he was personally skeptical of the news, he is confident in the accuracy of his sources.
“I think the team’s the Warriors. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but from the little birdies that I’ve heard — ‘cause you know I have little birdies, my information is usually correct…,” said Simmons.
Could we potentially see Kevin Durant return to the Warriors?@BillSimmons, @BigWos, and @RobMahoney theorize about the idea of KD returning to Golden State on the #BSPodcast: pic.twitter.com/KxW0yzLzMJ
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 22, 2022
Simmons continues to explain why Warriors team owner Joe Lacob is interested in the idea of bringing Durant back to the team.
“… Joe, pretty enchanted by the dynasty possibilities right now… You bring Durant back, and now it’s like, ‘We could win the next three titles in a row?’”
Lacob also made statements on The TK Show in July which appeared to be confirmation that the Warriors were at least considering a deal to sign Durant back. The team owner said that the Warriors “always look at any opportunities” to improve the team. However, they also have to consider potential long-term effects against the immediate benefits of any deal.
“Some options to building the team, if we were to pivot in some way, some partial way, might give us an even higher upside near term, but might decrease the long term…,” said Lacob. “So these are the things that [general manager] Bob [Myers] and the group all have to look at and determine what’s the right path.”
Simmons believes that a trade is viable because the Warriors have a large number of assets that the Nets could be interested in. Their resources mean that the Nets could be swayed to trade durant in exchange for players like Draymond Green and some of their promising young players like Jonathan Kuminga or Jordan Poole. However, Simmons isn’t sure if the trade for Durant would be worth it for the team in the long run.
Opposition to rumors
In contrast to the rumors, Myers implied that it was unlikely for the team to sign Durant since he thinks the current roster and strategy are solid.
“I like our team and where it’s at. I want to give the guys a chance to do it again,” said Myers.
Though he thinks the current team is struggling a bit, Myers is confident that the young talent signed on can improve at the upcoming training camp and lead the Warriors to success.
“It’s a good group. We’re lucky. It’ll be fun to see… I guess we’re back to being the hunted, which I didn’t think we’d be. We’ll see. I think we can handle it,” said Myers.
Andre Iguodala from the Warriors said that Durant should stay in the Nets despite the latter’s requests to transfer away from Brooklyn. Durant has reportedly asked the Nets to fire coach Steve Nash and their general manager, Sean Marks, despite having four years left on his contract.
“I think he should stay in Brooklyn. It’s such a big market; it’s good for the game. Just figure it out; make it work. Everybody grow up and make it work,” said Iguodala.