Kevin Durant ground summer free agency to a crawl with his trade request. It seems he’s doing the same to the trade deadline without saying a word.
With the deadline looming at 3 p.m. Thursday, one Western Conference general manager told The Post the Nets are still signaling to teams they have no intention of dealing Durant by then. That remains the case despite recent speculation otherwise. Brooklyn has told Durant the same.
But that hasn’t stopped just about every contender from checking in with the Nets about the availability of the currently injured Durant, about whether Monday’s trade of Kyrie Irving to Dallas has made the former MVP available as well.
“It’s just business, so I stay out of it. I just got drafted here, I just play,” Cam Thomas said. “Whatever they do, that’s on them. That’s the front office: They’ll make the best decision for the team. I just try to stay in my lane and play the best basketball I can.”
Recent history shows that the lion’s share of deals — close to 80 percent — get done within 48 hours of the deadline. But that countdown has gotten even more complicated and compressed, with teams having trade talks for other players disrupted because prospective partners are holding onto their assets until they get clarity on exactly what is happening in Brooklyn.
So far, neither the Nets, the sidelined Durant nor his manager Rich Kleiman are talking. That has led to a lot of waiting.
ESPN reported that a number of contenders feel they could conceivably have a shot at acquiring Durant — either by Thursday or far more likely in the summer — and have no desire to help Brooklyn, and thereby undercut their own hopes. Instead, they’re opting to keep their proverbial powder dry.
Still, the Nets have been desperately searching for ways to improve themselves before the deadline. They’ve been linked with the Suns’ Jae Crowder or Toronto’s OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam, the latter of which would likely cost Nic Claxton.
Brooklyn rejected Toronto’s offer of a first-round pick for Claxton a year ago, and his value has only increased.
“Yeah, last year for me going through almost being traded, it made me focus even more, just knowing that you’re this close to being traded for potentially a first-round pick,” Claxton said.
“It can definitely be a lot on your mental if you give into it. But you’ve just got to stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing and control what you can control. That’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day we all have a job to do. … [But] yeah it can be toxic if you let it for sure.”
Edmond Sumner agreed.
“Man, that [trade drama] is toxic,” Sumner said. “It’s definitely crazy for me in Brooklyn. … Here it’s chaotic. You’ve got everybody, the whole world. You turn on the TV they’re talking about it.
“It gets annoying, I ain’t going to lie to you. That’s annoying. Every time I turn on my phone — and I’m not even searching — it’s Brooklyn Nets, Brooklyn Nets, every time. It’s annoying. I just try to turn on some shows, read some books, play a game just to get away from it, especially right now. It’s crazy.”
Making a move would be huge in convincing Durant that Irving’s departure doesn’t have to precipitate his.
When Durant sprained his MCL last season, the Nets went 5-16. His concern over that lack of fight prompted a June trade request that Durant didn’t rescind until after an August sit-down with GM Sean Marks and Nets owner Joe Tsai.
But since spraining his other MCL on Jan. 8 in Miami, Durant has watched the Nets go 5-9 and deal Irving. In the past year he’s seen James Harden and now Irving both force their way out of Brooklyn.
The Nets have been so chaotic, when Irving requested a trade veteran Markieff Morris was hoping to leave with him.
“There was just a lot going on,” Morris told the Dallas Morning News. “I just want to play basketball. So that’s just how I feel. I was just hoping I was going to be traded.”
