If BK experiment fails, Durant as 3rd-wheel to “Jays” would be ideal for Boston Celtics

Just because he said he would end his career in Brooklyn doesn’t mean he won’t reconsider if things go south. If they do, being the third wheel with the Boston Celtics would be ideal.

No, Kevin Durant is not on the trade block or looking for an out of Brooklyn already. The ink may not be dry on his four-year max that he signed last summer, but there are only two more seasons for Durant to decide that the Nets are the team he should spend the rest of his career with before he has the opportunity to bounce in free agency once again…so what does this have to do with the Boston Celtics?

Well, the obvious reason the “Slim Reaper” is even on the mind is that the Cs host Brooklyn in the TD Garden tonight in their preseason finale. With just two preseason games, Boston doesn’t get to see much of their opponents, but they do get to scout one of the league’s budding powerhouses.

Now, to be fair, that statement was born out of the fact that Durant and Kyrie Irving looked so unstoppable the other night in their exhibition opener. Then again, they were playing a Washington Wizards team without Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, among others.

If that is just empty preseason goodness, and the actual season is going to pan out like any other season with Irving on the roster, then the Nets’ days with the mercurial Durant may already be numbered.

Even though he was unable to play last season, he still collected Brooklyn’s money. He has three years left on his contract with an opt-out after two. Remember, it took two seasons for Irving to completely overstay his welcome in Boston.

Irving couldn’t even get along with LeBron James, who recently admitted all he wanted was to see “Dr. Drew” win the league MVP. Clearly, Irving is capable of destroying just about any team he plays for. With a rookie coach in Steve Nash expected to manage the duo’s star egos, things could go any number of ways.

The Houdini is not here to tell you that the Nets will fail. They could easily win the championship with all of the talent they possess on their roster. But history shows that Irving has a habit of pushing people away and being the downfall of a team’s season.

In 2022, if Durant is unhappy, the Boston Celtics could resurface as a suitor. Remember, they were one of the few teams that were granted a meeting in 2016 when he hosted all of his free-agent meetings in the Hamptons (hence the “Hamptons’ Five” lineup in Golden State). The ragtag recruiting group of Isaiah Thomas, Danny Ainge, and Tom Brady couldn’t get the job done in corralling his services, but things are different now.

By the time Durant hits free agency again, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will be close to their athletic primes, and the Cs books could potentially fit another max contract if the team decides not to extend Marcus Smart to a new deal…assuming they deal Kemba Walker’s expiring $37 million salary at that point as well.

Who knows, a 34-year-old KD may not require the full max or anything close to it.

With Durant playing his minutes at the 4 and 5, the lineup fit with Tatum and Brown is a snug one. Who knows, Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith may be developed enough to complete that lineup.

Either way, as preposterous as it sounds right now, Durant as a third-wheel to the “Jays” in a few years on the Boston Celtics is far from the craziest idea out there. If the Los Angeles Lakers continue to control the league as the Golden State Warriors did in the mid-2000s, perhaps instead of joining the perennial superteam and losing peoples’ respect, he can join the Lakers’ mortal rival and bring back one of the great player rivalries (LeBron vs. Durant) while also reigniting sports’ greatest rivalry.