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- The Nets paid Kevin Durant over $10 million on July 1, according to NBA reporter Marc Stein.
- Durant requested a trade from the Nets on June 30.
- He's about to begin a four-year, $194 million extension, but the Nets might not pay him if he sits out games.
Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on June 30, before even playing a game under his four-year, $194 million extension that begins this season.
However, thanks to an uncommon and aggressive payment structure, he's already received a quarter of his salary for the 2022-23 season, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein.
Stein reported in his Substack newsletter that Durant's contract pays him half of his $42.9 million salary — or about $21.4 million — for 2022-23 in two payments: on July 1 and October 1.
This means one day after Durant requested a trade, the Nets then had to pay him over $10 million of his salary.
According to Stein, the payment structure is "the most aggressive early payment schedule allowed by league rules." Typically, teams begin paying players when the season begins.
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Durant's request has pushed the limits of player empowerment, seeking a trade elsewhere with so much time left on his deal. In previous cases, players have requested trades with a year or two left on their deals, using the threat of free agency to push their teams to move them and to land in their preferred destinations.
Durant is quite possibly the best player in the league. His trade request was expected to ignite a trade frenzy.
However, momentum on a trade has reportedly stalled, in part because the Nets have attached an historic price tag for Durant — a star player (or two), role players, young players, and multiple draft picks. Teams haven't been willing to meet that price, and the Nets are in no hurry to move Durant, thanks to the amount of time remaining on his deal.
It has been speculated that Durant could sit out of training camp and games to get a trade. If he does so, it's possible that the Nets won't pay him another $10 million on October 1.
As Stein notes, the Philadelphia 76ers did the same thing with Durant's current teammate Ben Simmons when Simmons requested a trade last summer and didn't report to training camp. Simmons filed a grievance to recoup $20 million the Sixers withheld from him last year over his absence. Simmons had said he was not mentally prepared to play games.
The Nets are scheduled to begin training camp on September 27. The date looms large to see if Durant reports — if he hasn't been traded yet — and if the Nets continue to pay him if he doesn't.
The Nets reportedly had to pay Kevin Durant $10 million the day after he requested a trade
Source: Kalayaan News
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