LAS VEGAS — Both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have player options for the final season of their four-year deals with Brooklyn. That means the Nets’ four-year window to win with the All-NBA duo could get sliced in half if Durant’s ruptured Achilles sidelines him for the first year of his deal and the two stars opt out of the last.
When Durant was injured in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Golden State coach Steve Kerr stated flatly the star forward would miss this coming season. But after Nets orthopedist Martin O’Malley operated on Durant, Brooklyn was noncommittal and left open the possibility of a 2019-20 return.