The NBA rumor mill is still swirling with Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook possibly all available. The Crossover staff make their predictions on where each player will be at the start of next season.
When the season starts, where will Kevin Durant play?
Chris Herring: Toronto. I still feel like the Raptors have the most promising roster with players both young and affordable enough for Brooklyn to want to take on. (Jaylen Brown is great, but do the Nets want to be responsible for paying him more than $40 million a year on his next contract in two years?) It’s just a question of whether Toronto can accept the idea of give up on Scottie Barnes.
Robin Lundberg: Boston. I had gotten to the point where I thought Kevin Durant (and Kyrie Irving) staying with the Nets was the likeliest outcome due to the apparent lack of sufficient offers and years remaining on his contract. However, the Celtics’ reported offer based on Jaylen Brown is the most realistic I’ve seen, so if it’s not Brooklyn, I’ll say Boston as of today.
Rohan Nadkarni: Memphis. Durant will be on the Grizzlies because that would be the most fun option. KD could supercharge a rising team that happens to be embroiled in a budding rivalry with his former running mates the Warriors. And Memphis has some interesting bits (Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane) he could send back to Brooklyn in addition to pickaxes. Is it likely? Probably not. But it’s hard to find teams that make sense for Durant, and perhaps the most obvious choice (Phoenix) appears off the table because of the signing of Deandre Ayton. The longer this drags on, the harder it becomes to build Durant trades that make sense.
Jeremy Woo: Brooklyn. I can’t say I’m convinced the Nets are lowering their asking price or anyone else is meeting it yet. I could see him hanging around the season with no change in circumstances.
When the season starts, where will Donovan Mitchell play?
Herring: New York, which has an abundance of future first-round picks and enough young talent to seal a deal in the most seamless manner. Miami still seems like the other logical landing spot, but the Heat would need to find another club to help them sweeten their offer.
Lundberg: New York. I’ll stick with the Knicks when it comes to Donovan Mitchell. We’ve seen New York used as leverage in talks before, but this time around it feels more real as the Knicks have the credentials to make a solid offer and Mitchell’s interest seems mutual.
Nadkarni: New York. Mitchell will play for the Knicks. New York has both the capital project and the thirst to make this kind of move. I don’t see Utah prolonging the situation if they want to tank well this coming season. The Knicks can also fire enough intriguing young talent without having to send out RJ Barrett, who the Jazz probably don’t want to have to extend anyway. This one makes too much sense for both parties.
Courting: New York. From a standpoint of pure entertainment value, at this point, if it doesn’t, it’s disappointing. Will this actually change the fortunes of the Knicks and get them into the playoffs? Not sure.
Scroll to continue
When the season starts, where will Kyrie Irving play?
Herring: Los Angeles. The Lakers, desperate to improve their position as a point guard after the experience of Russell Westbrook, are gone. Los Angeles doesn’t have a lot of assets – they sold most of what they had to get Westbrook and, before that, Anthony Davis – but if the Lakers really want to maximize what’s left of LeBron’s window, they’ll will find a way to land Kyrie and get out of the Westbrook deal.
Lundberg: Brooklyn. For me it’s the Nets for Kyrie, especially as long as KD stays in BK. But, given that the Nets are clearly no longer in love with Irving based on contract negotiations, if Durant is dealt with, Kyrie likely wouldn’t be far behind. In that case, I would have to tip the Lakers as they seem to be the only team with strong interest.
Nadkarni: Brooklyn. I can’t see Brooklyn accepting Russell Westbrook’s contract for a Lakers pick … and I can’t see Los Angeles giving up two firsts for Irving in the final year of his contract (or wanting to extend it when LeBron also enters free agency next summer). I also don’t know of any other team in the league that would be willing to take on Irving and the ensuing drama at this point. The Lakers also apparently have other options, like trying to get Buddy Hield to move. I think Irving is starting the season on the Nets roster but staying home, and he’ll be moved – maybe even bought out! – once the season has started.
Courting: Brooklyn. But will he really play? Who knows. I also really enjoyed working from home in Brooklyn.
When the season starts, where will Russell Westbrook play?
Herring: No idea. This is too complicated a question at the moment. I think it will end up somewhere else, but no idea where. Whoever trades for it may not be interested in keeping it. Indiana has been the subject of rumours, for example, but someone like Tyrese Haliburton – one of the sport’s most talented young generals – would almost certainly benefit from having more responsibility as opposed to the reduced ones he would see. playing with Westbrook.
Lundberg: Los Angeles. Until the other pieces move, Russ is a Laker. If the dominoes start falling, his ultimate destination is hard to predict as it’s not clear Brooklyn would even want him. Then it can be a third team like San Antonio (which was mentioned) that is ready to eat its market and see what production it brings in a new situation (i.e. if it does not move one way or another by other means).
Nadkarni: Free agent. I think Russell Westbrook will be a free agent at the start of the season. If the Lakers manage to trade him, the assumption is that the team that acquires Russ will buy him back immediately. And in this scenario, I don’t see anyone rushing to sign Westbrook right away. Brodie is probably going to need to do some image rehabilitation around the league before he can hang anywhere. And if he is bought, I don’t imagine he will want to sign for cheap in a team that is not in the running. And what competitor would want him? For nostalgic reasons, I would really like to see Westbrook back in Oklahoma City in a bench role. But it might take a while to get there.
Courting: Los Angeles. His contract and declining play make him… quite difficult to trade. If the Lakers are willing to pony up their own draft picks as weight to lose pay, maybe it will. How desperate will they be? We will see.
More NBA coverage: