Playing Hardball

On the former ESPN Radio morning show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Mike Greenburg would often proclaim that they were “back and better than ever”.   Well, I’m back and I’m whatever I was before, and I am what I am now.  Would that I could proclaim what Mike and Mike did for years upon years…

I want to focus this morning with commentary on Kevin Durant’s request to be traded from the Brooklyn Nets.  I want to focus on this because it is a tad unusual even in the world of the NBA where star players rule the roost.  And because the situation is a “tad unusual,” I think the Nets ought to  tell Kevin Durant to “go fly a kite” – – or whatever the current jargon of the day is its equivalent.  Let me explain…

Please forget all the details of “annual salary” and “likely incentives” to be earned under Kevin Durant’s existing contract.  The only important figure in the deal that would be important to me if I were the owner, or the GM for the Nets is this one:

• The current contract is in force through the end of the 2025/26 season and Kevin Durant does not become an unrestricted free agent until the summer of 2026.

Kevin Durant says he wants to play somewhere other than for the Brooklyn Nets.  Everyone has freedom of expression; everyone has a fundamental right to express what might make them best aligned to “pursue happiness” as is postulated as a Divinely granted right in the Declaration of Independence.  The burr under the saddle here is that humongous contract that is in effect between the Nets and Durant from now through 2026 when he is scheduled to collect about $190M for playing basketball in a Brooklyn Nets uniform.  Now, with four years to run on that guaranteed contract, Kevin Durant wants out.  And if I am the owner or the GM for the Nets, I tell him – figuratively and ever so diplomatically – to go suck eggs.

If Kevin Durant wants to play NBA basketball – – and “chase rings” or to “ polish his legacy”, he has to do that in a Brooklyn Nets uniform – – unless the Nets decide to trade him.  He can demand a trade; he can arrange a trade with compensation to the Nets for his services; but none of that means a pinch of pigeon poop if I am the owner/GM of the Nets.  If I am in that position, here is my stance:

• I will only trade you to a team when/if I get an offer that I – and no one else – considers beneficial to the Brooklyn Nets.
• That means I – and not you – might get to pick the team  you will play for next.
• That means you need to waive your “no trade clause” – – and if you do not, I will limit your choices to two things.  Play for the Nets or sit out and play for no one in the NBA.
• Only by incredible fortuitousness will you get to play for a team of  your choosing – – because I am not trading  you to anyone unless I get what I think is a worthwhile return.  And as soon as you even hint that you want to play for any  other team in the league, my price for a deal with that team just went up by a factor of two.

Why might an owner even try to think about such a harsh interaction with the empowered players in the NBA?  Here’s why:

• Kevin Durant is locked in for four seasons.  I as an owner control his life and his desires for that period of time.  He cannot threaten me to become a free agent and leave me with “nothing in return” the next three seasons.

The deal here is simple; it has three possible ways to play our:

1. Play for the Nets; collect the annual salary that we agreed upon in previous negotiations.
2. Waive your no trade clause such that the team can search to find a deal that is acceptable to the team for your services.  If that is unacceptable because you only want to play for certain other teams – – tough bunny.  The Nets own your NBA services until 2026; you may be unhappy with that fact – – but it does not negate the fact that it is a fact.
3. Withhold your services from the NBA and the Nets and go play in the Uzbekistani League.  My only caveat to you there is to be sure you don’t’ suffer a significant injury there that might require immediate and cutting-edge medical treatment because you might find yourself treated with a concoction of bats’ wings and spirits of hartshorn.

NBA superstars – – and Kevin Durant is one of them – – have gotten used to the idea that they call the shots on where they will play and where they will not play.  But that works for guys on short term deals where the team is in danger of pissing off the player and then having them sign elsewhere with no recompense to the original team.  Kevin Durant is in no position to pull such a stunt; if anyone in this saga is in a position to “play hardball” it is the Nets’ owner or the Nets’ GM.  The message is clear and stark:

• If you don’t want to play for the Nets – – and therefore in the NBA – – I hope you enjoy your time in cities like Samarkand, Tashkent and Andijan.
• And if you think that is going to enhance whatever you might have tried to create as an “NBA legacy”, Buona Fortuna!

Do I expect the Nets’ ownership – – or any other NBA owner – – to play hardball with star players in this sort of way?  Hell, NO!  But they ought to consider it – – especially when they have 4 years of contract commitment on their side.

Finally, today has been about an NBA situation so let me close with this item from Dwight Perry in the Seattle times regarding the comments of another NBA player about his “fame”:

“Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr., via Twitter, when asked if he is the most famous person from Richfield, Ohio’s Revere High School: ‘You would think so … but, I’m not sure what I’d have to do to pass Jeffery Dahmer.’”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………