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    COLUMN: NBA contracts mean less in era of player empowerment

    While KD will almost certainly find joy with a new team, the sadness and bleakness of another rebuild await the Nets
    Jul 2, 2022
    Kevin Durant sad Heat vs Nets
    The Heat are part of Kevin Durant's preferred destinations.
    PHOTO: AP
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    NEW JERSEY -- NBA contracts used to mean something, signed deals that are supposed to be binding.

    Not anymore.

    Not in an era of player empowerment where star players routinely dishonor their contracts to pursue personal liberties while potentially leaving a franchise in ruins.

    Which is what's happening with the Nets in Brooklyn where Kevin Durant has politely requested a trade, a plea that the time is aggressively taking steps to accommodate.

    So why are the Nets letting go of their best player who still has four years and roughly $193.2 million in his contract?

    Well, they really have no choice.

    No employer can keep an unhappy employee. Doing so would only result in cuddling a toxic relationship where the business owner is no longer able to get the best effort from what was deemed a valued asset.

    So the Nets did the most prudent thing here, which is to bring in the scissors and cut ties while aiming to get as much talent as they can in return in the trade market.

    If the Utah Jazz were able to secure a total of five draft picks (first-rounders in 2023, 2025 and 2027, an unprotected swap in 2026, and a top-five protected pick in 2029), the sky's the limit for Durant.

    Although slowly getting up there in age at 33, KD is still a top 3 player with two rings, a league MVP award and two NBA Finals MVP trophies to his name.

    GREAT FOR Kevin Durant. SAD AND BAD FOR THE NETS.

    Wherever he lands -- Miami and Phoenix tops his wish list --- gives that team a legitimate shot at dethroning the Golden State Warriors, who have kept their core intact while adding a vital piece (Donte DiVincenzo) to blunt the departure of Gary Payton II, an elite wing defender that Portland lured away with a three-year $28 million contract..

    While Durant will almost certainly find joy as he frolics with new teammates, the sadness and bleakness of another rebuild await the Nets.

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    What a stunning fall from grace for a team that was installed by Las Vegas oddsmakers as the team to beat last June.

    Instead, they were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

    James Harden left in a less than graceful exit last March while Durant is about to bolt out the door, albeit in a more dignified, classy pivot.

    Ironically, the root of all that ails the Nets, Kyrie Irving, is still around and the team has no intention of moving him after the mercurial guard opted into his $37 million salary for the 2022-23 season.

    Life is not fair.

    Especially for the hard-luck Nets, who are now left holding an empty bag that used to be bursting with promise.

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      The Heat are part of Kevin Durant's preferred destinations.
      PHOTO: AP
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