While most of the buzz around the upcoming NBA offseason is revolving around the Knicks, the other team in New York is looking make waves.
Anthony Puccio of SNY reported on Tuesday that Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Tobias Harris, “will at least consider” signing with the Brooklyn Nets this summer in free agency.
The Nets have quickly developed from NBA doormat to playoff side this year. They earned their first trip to the postseason in four years behind the emergence of All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell.
It’s suddenly made Brooklyn an appealing spot to land for free agents, especially with the Nets having some connections to these marquee free agents.
“Making the playoffs definitely helped their chances,” a source told Puccio.
Golden State’s Durant trained with the young Nets forward Caris LeVert in 2017, developing a close friendship throughout the process. The two initially met when Durant had a broken foot repaired by Dr. Martin O’Malley, the Nets’ foot and ankle specialist.
Another one of Durant’s friends, former personal trainer, and shooting coach, Adam Harrington, is the Nets’ director of player development and an assistant coach.
Durant also received a tour of Brooklyn from Russell for his show, “Fly By.”
As for Leonard, he spent three years working alongside Nets general manager Sean Marks when he was an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs. Marks has a good relationship with Leonard’s uncle, who played a large role in the trade that sent the All-Star to the Toronto Raptors.
“The process we went through this year—and there’s a lot of positives that have come out of this year—can only help,” Marks told Puccio. “It’s going to attract free agents. People are going to want to play here. They’re going to want to play for [head coach] Kenny [Atkinson], they’re going to want to play in Brooklyn, they’re going to play for this ownership group. We have a lot of things going for us.”
As it stands, the Nets have space for one max-salary contract this summer when free agency begins on July 1. It could become two though if the Nets trade Allen Crabbe and decide to renounce Russell, who has a qualifying offer that provides a $21 million cap hit.
