Just thinking out loud here, but if it's true that Kevin Durant has no leverage in picking his next team, why are the Nets trading him in the first place? Before I tell you why this matters to the Sixers, let's answer the question. The idea that Durant's contract will limit his veto power over potential trades is one that has been raised on a number of occasions since the news broke that he wants out of Brooklyn.
The thinking goes something like this: Durant will earn $196 million as long as he plays basketball for the next four years, which leaves him little choice but to play basketball, regardless of which basketball team acquires his contract. It's so quaint a notion that it's almost adorable.
Thing is, here in the real world, guys like Durant get to choose where they play. It's one of the perks of being a top-10 player of all time. The more it costs a team to acquire you, the more control you have over which team acquires you. Take the Celtics, for example. Even if Durant wants to play in Boston, there'd be plenty of risk in trading two young starters off an NBA Finals team for a 33-year-old veteran two years removed from an Achilles tear. If he makes it known that he does not want to play there, is Brad Stevens really going to gamble Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams that Durant changes his mind? Of course not.
The Sixers' two biggest offseason additions are still on the way
This matters to the Sixers mostly because of the potential logjam it creates on the trade market. The fewer bidders the Nets have, the more they could need to rely on time for leverage. And that could make it difficult for any other significant deals to take place in the interim, given the amount of capital and moving parts that are likely to be involved in any equitable Durant transaction. Obviously, any team interested in acquiring Durant will be reluctant to make a move that impacts its ability to deal for the future Hall of Famer. But think about all of the other teams in the league that might be hoping to reap some sort of trickle-down benefit from any deal. After all, if Durant's future employer needs another team's young talent or draft assets or salaries or payroll space to make a deal happen, it will surely pay a premium, given the stakes of landing such a player.
One example pertinent to the Sixers: the Rockets. Houston has long made sense as a potential trade partner for the Sixers. In Eric Gordon, they have a player who seems like a perfect fit. But even before Durant hit the market, Houston seemed determined to extract more than a pound of flesh in any deal with Daryl Morey. It makes little sense to back down now if there is even the slightest potential of Gordon's $18 million-plus salary playing a role in facilitating a Durant trade. For what it's worth, The Athletic recently reported that the Rockets could be thinking along those lines.
The Sixers officially sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, completing their Rockets reunion
Durant isn't the only factor that leaves the rest of the NBA in the unusual position in waiting for one team to figure itself out. Kyrie Irving may not be a market-mover on the level of Durant, but he does have the potential to muck things up for the Sixers. I wouldn't pay too much attention to any reports that suggest the Sixers are a realistic landing spot for the enigmatic All-Star, given the way James Harden's tenure ended in Brooklyn. That said, Irving's fate could have some second-order effects on the Sixers as they continue to monitor the possibility of a Tobias Harris trade. Funny things happen in the NBA when salary is on the move. That's especially true when Russell Westbrook's salary is involved, which it could very well be if the Lakers are as likely a landing spot for Irving as the conventional wisdom suggests.
Let's be clear about where things stand with Harris. His situation is much different than those of Irving or Westbrook. The Sixers will only deal Harris in a trade that makes them a better team in the present. And given that Harris is still a very good two-way player whom the organization deeply respects, there aren't a lot of potential deals that make sense. If Harden ends up signing a contract that cuts his 2022-23 cap number by $10 million-plus, it would largely negate any benefit the Sixers would stand to gain strictly from the shedding of Harris' contract. At this point, Westbrook is at best a maximum-contract Dennis Schröder or Alec Burks, a guy whose greatest value to a contending team would be as a bench scorer.
Yet the cap is king in the NBA, and in a world where salaries like those of Durant, Irving, and Westbrook are all in play, it's easy to envision a world in which a clear picture of Harris' value does not emerge until after the rest of the dust has settled.
The moral of the story: The Sixers' offseason is not complete, and it could take awhile to get there.
