NBA Rumors: Latest News on Kevin Durant, Trey Burke Trade and More
NBA free agency officially begins Friday, July 1 at 12:01 a.m. ET, and given the players expected to hit the market and the amount of money teams have to throw around, it's bound to be a wild ride.
The league's annual TV revenue exploded in October, going from $930 million to nearly $2.7 billion, as Yahoo Sports' Kelly Dwyer reported, meaning that the first free agency period in this new television rights era will be "spendy," to say the least.
And there appear to be players worth spending big bucks on. Guard Trey Burke and superstar Kevin Durant are just two players expected to command attention on the open market. Let's break down the latest rumors on Durant, Burke and more before the official start of free agency.
Utah Jazz are making Trey Burke available for a trade
Now that they've got George Hill on the roster, and with Dante Exum coming back from injury, the Utah Jazz are putting 2013 lottery pick Trey Burke on the trading block, as ESPN's Marc Stein reported:
The Jazz acquired Hill on June 22 in a three-team trade, giving its 2016 lottery pick (No. 12 overall) to the Atlanta Hawks for the former Indiana Pacers guard, Hill. Indiana received point guard Jeff Teague from Atlanta.
Hill will be Utah's starting guard, and with Exum on the bench, there's little room left for Burke on the roster. Hill has just one year left on his contract, but there's no doubt the Jazz are hoping Exum is the guard of the future.
Burke has had an underwhelming start to his career, and his opportunities have plummeted as a result.
In his first season, Burke started 68 games. He dropped to 43 in the 2014-15 season, and in 2015-16, he didn't start at all.
However, with the young guard being 23 years old, the Jazz are bound to find someone willing to partner on a trade for him.
Kevin Durant will meet with Thunder Thursday prior to other teams on his list
He won't be nailing down the specifics of a potential new contract; players are prohibited from doing that before 12:01 a.m. ET on July 1.
But Durant is scheduled to meet with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, June 30, prior to visiting the other teams competing for his services, per ESPN's Chris Broussard and Marc Stein.
Per Broussard and Stein, the other teams scheduled to host Durant for a visit are the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.
The New York Knicks are also still in the running, but Durant will not be meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers.
No doubt, teams have spent untold time and resources crafting the perfect pitch to lure Durant, but his best option might be to remain in Oklahoma City. The only franchise he has ever belonged to has built itself up around him, playing to his strengths and adding pieces to complement its star.
The Thunder are poised to contend again in 2016-17. Even if Durant tries to bring a championship to Oklahoma City for one more year before eventually moving on, it might be a smart play in the long run before he commits to a long-term deal with another franchise.
Jarrett Jack is done in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Nets are planning to waive guard Jarrett Jack if they are not able to find a trade for him before his contract guarantee date on Thursday, reported The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Per Wojnarowski, if the Nets waive Jack by Thursday, they will gain $44 million in cap space to use when the free-agency period begins on Friday.
The 32-year-old suffered an ACL injury in January, but per Wojnarowski, "doctors expect that he'll be fully recovered for the start of NBA training camps."
Prior to the injury, Jack averaged 12.8 points and 7.4 assists.
Financials aside, it's no surprise the Nets are looking to move on from Jack. ESPN's Mike Mazzeo shared the sobering stats:
Needless to say, that's not a formula for success.
