Ogni anno quando si avvicina la scadenza del mercato NBA ci sono sorprese, ma quest'anno si è andato oltre. Se Irving a Dallas era stato l'antipasto, nelle ultime ore è successo molto altro, coinvolgendo due delle franchigie più seguite, ovvero Nets e Lakers, e due dei giocatori più forti visti negli ultimi anni, Kevin Durant e Russell Westbrook.
I due ex compagni a Oklahoma stanno però vivendo situazioni opposte. Durant è infatti stato spedito da Brooklyn (che dunque si è liberato dei due giocatori più rappresentativi in pochi giorni) ai Phoenix Suns insieme a TJ Warren in cambio di Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder e diverse scelte e andrà a formare con Chris Paul, Devin Booker e DeAndre Ayton una squadra potenzialmente da titolo. Westbrook è invece entrato in uno scambio a tre con Minnesota e Utah che lo vedrà finire ai Jazz dove verrà verosimilmente tagliato per liberare spazio salariale, mentre Los Angeles si rinforza con D'Angelo Russell (un ritorno), Malik Beasley e Jarred Vanderbilt.
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