Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook have already moved teams, but the trade that stunned the NBA was closed this morning (Thursday): Kevin Durant is moving to Phoenix, joining a team that just two years ago qualified for the NBA Finals, and dreams of a historic championship.
No less surprising were the details behind the deal between Brooklyn and Phoenix.
Contrary to early estimates, the Suns did not have to give up any of the stars, so Durant will join Chris Paul (who was mentioned as a trade candidate, and ended up staying and getting a golden opportunity to win his first career championship), Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton in Arizona.
Mykel Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder will go the other way, and the Nets will also receive four future first-round draft picks, and a trade of picks.
The Suns, who are ranked fifth in the West, are now becoming the most prominent star team of the conference, probably also of the entire league.
In Vegas, we have already updated the betting ratios for this season's champion, and the Suns, as expected, made a significant jump.
Boston is still the favorite according to the betting agencies, but the Suns are behind them, and they are also ahead of Denver, Memphis and the Clippers.
Again changing team, again to a "ready" constellation.
Durant (Photo: GettyImages, Sarah Stier)
"The addition of Kevin Durant makes the Suns' glass ceiling much higher, at a level that doesn't even come close to the one it had when it reached the NBA Finals," wrote "The Ringer" commentator Kevin O'Connor.
"The West is much less safe now. Phoenix is the best team in the conference."
The one who rushed to congratulate Durant is Kyrie Irving, the first to "abandon" the Nets and was transferred to Dallas.
After his debut in which he scored 24 points and led the Mavs to a prestigious victory over the Clippers, Kyrie addressed the trade, and even bypassed Brooklyn.
"I even had a lot of conversations during the season about what our future would look like, there was a kind of uncertainty, but the ambition of each of us was to get to a place where we could flourish - together or separately. I didn't feel even for one moment that he was angry about decisions I made along the way , and I wasn't angry at any of his decisions. We tried to understand each other as much as possible, and we developed a relationship like between brothers. Now everything suddenly changes so quickly, we got a little older, and I'm glad he was able to get out of there," said Irving.
"We play in the same conference, and we can meet more and face each other more often. I'm happy for him."
According to reports in the United States, Durant was "locked" on a move to Phoenix already several weeks ago, and tried to direct himself there at almost any cost.
If he didn't move during the season, he pushed for a trade that would move him there in the end.
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NBA
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Kevin Durant
Brooklyn Nets
Phoenix Suns