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The number of rumors floating around regarding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has been dizzying to say the least. However, SNY's Ian Begley offered some perspective on recent developments as the story takes another turn.
Kevin Durant's situation has seen very little change as of late. Although the tremors sent out from his trade request early in the offseason were felt around the league, the hype has since died down.
A similar situation has emerged with Kyrie Irving. Although the guard has been connected with the LA Lakers, he reportedly intends to play out the rest of the season with the Brooklyn Nets.
With the duo apparently likely to team up once again, the Nets seem to be in a good place. Offering insight into Durant's situation, Begley said:
"On the Kevin Durant front, couple of people familiar with the Nets dynamic in their search for potential trades for Kevin Durant said there was pessimism, lot of pessimism about the idea of a deal getting done in the near future here."
He added:
"Part of that pessimism was about the idea that finding a third team or a fourth team to help facilitate a trade that the Nets deemed suitable of Durant was difficult."
Begley highlighted the lack of interest around the league for Durant. While suggesting that teams weren't interested in acting as a conduit to facilitate a trade, he added that the situation remained fluid.
With regards to Irving, he said:
"I was told by a source close to Irving that he feels that he and the Nets are in a pretty good place, very good place right now and comfortable as we sit here early in August."
He also said:
"After a lot of trade talk, doesn't appear to be much there at the moment. So it's worth noting that Irving, according to sources close to him, is very comfortable, feels like the Nets and he are in a good place at this point as we head towards next season."
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving likely to start the season with the Brooklyn Nets
An exit from Brooklyn seems unlikely at this point for both Durant and Irving. With training camp only two months away, it seems increasingly likely that the Nets superstar duo will play with the side in the upcoming season.
Kyrie Irving recently voiced his desire to play out the season in Brooklyn and by opting-in to his contract, the Nets can be assured of his desire to play.
Meanwhile, although Durant requested a trade to another title contender, the forward is also set to meet with Nets owner Joe Tsai. Although the nature of the discussion is up for speculation, several predict that the talks should be positive for the franchise.
The Athletic's Jovan Buha also wrote in an article that it would take a drastic situation for the superstar duo to split at this point in time.
