What does Kevin Durant‘s extension mean for him and the Brooklyn Nets？
凱文杜蘭特的提前續約對他和布魯克林籃網意味著什麼？
Durant broke the news Friday on his own Boardroom website that he has agreed to sign a four-year， $198 million contract extension to his current deal， which could have allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent next summer by declining a player option。
上週五，杜蘭特在自己的董事會網站上透露，他已經同意簽署一份4年1。98億美元的續約合同，這份合同本可以讓他在明年夏天拒絕球員選擇權，成為一名不受限制的自由球員。
The Nets will also have the ability this summer to extend the contracts of their other two stars， James Harden and Kyrie Irving。 Those extensions are the biggest decisions in an offseason that has seen Brooklyn tinker around the edges of a roster that appeared headed for the NBA Finals before Harden and Irving both suffered injuries during a second-round loss to the Milwaukee Bucks。
今年夏天籃網也將有能力延長他們的其他兩名球星，詹姆斯哈登和凱里歐文的合同。這些擴張是休賽期最大的決定，在哈登和歐文在第二輪輸給密爾沃基雄鹿隊的比賽中受傷之前，布魯克林似乎已經在 NBA 總決賽的名單邊緣上小試牛刀了。
So what does Durant signing on long term mean for the Nets？ Let’s take a look。
那麼杜蘭特的長期簽約對籃網意味著什麼呢？ 讓我們來看看。
Extension maximizes Durant‘s guaranteed salary
延期使杜蘭特的保證工資最大化
Like his former Golden State Warriors teammate and fellow MVP Stephen Curry， Durant had no financial incentive to wait and re-sign as a free agent next summer rather than extending now。 As my ESPN colleague Bobby Marks explains， either way， both players were eligible for 5% raises in the first year of their new contracts even if that amount exceeds the typical maximum salary for players with 10-plus years of experience。
就像他在金州勇士的前隊友、同為 MVP 的斯蒂芬 · 庫裡一樣，杜蘭特沒有經濟動機去等待明年夏天以自由球員的身份重新簽約，而不是現在延長合同。正如我在 ESPN 的同事鮑比 · 馬克斯（Bobby Marks）所解釋的那樣，不管怎樣，兩名球員在新合同的第一年都有資格獲得5% 的加薪，即使這個數字超過了擁有10年以上經驗的球員通常的最高工資。
Curry and Durant are also affected by the NBA’s over-38 rule， which affects contract length for players who would reach age 38 during the course of it。 That would have prevented both from re-signing for the maximum five years next summer， meaning an extension locks in as many new years of salary as would have been possible in free agency。
庫裡和杜蘭特也受到了 NBA 超過38歲規則的影響，這一規則影響了38歲以上球員的合同期限。這樣一來，雙方就無法在明年夏天續簽最多5年的合同，這意味著延長合同可以鎖定自由球員所能獲得的更多年薪。
The last factor here is that Durant apparently had no interest in exploring free agency after changing teams twice as an unrestricted free agent， from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Warriors in 2016 and then from Golden State to Brooklyn in 2019。 With friends Harden and Irving as teammates and a championship-caliber roster， Durant had no reason to look around。
最後一個因素是，杜蘭特顯然沒有興趣探索自由市場，他曾兩次以不受限制的自由球員身份更換球隊，2016年從俄克拉何馬城雷霆轉會到勇士，2019年又從金州勇士轉會到布魯克林。有了朋友哈登和歐文作為隊友和一支冠軍球隊的花名冊，杜蘭特沒有理由四處張望。
More extensions perhaps to come？
或許還會有更多的擴充套件？
As noted， Durant isn‘t the only Nets star eligible for an extension。 Irving， who went to Brooklyn with Durant in the summer of 2019， is on the same timetable with a player option for 2022-23。
正如前面提到的，杜蘭特並不是唯一一個有資格續約的籃網球星。歐文在2019年夏天和杜蘭特一起去了布魯克林，在2022-23賽季也有球員選擇。
There is a key difference that could make an extension less favorable for Irving， however。 Because of his age （29）， Irving won’t be affected by the over-38 rule， meaning he could add five years to his contract next summer instead of being limited to four this year。
然而，有一個關鍵的不同點可能會使歐文的延長不那麼有利。由於他的年齡（29歲） ，歐文不會受到超過38歲規則的影響，這意味著他可以在明年夏天續約5年，而不是今年限制在4年。
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant averaged 26。9 points， 7。1 rebounds and 5。6 assists during the 2020-21 season。 布魯克林網隊球星凱文杜蘭特在2020-2021賽季場均得到26。9分，7。1個籃板和5。6次助攻Nathaniel S。 Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Harden‘s situation is slightly different。 In his case， it makes more sense financially to pick up a 47。4 million player option for 2022-23， which is more than Harden could possibly make that year with an extension。 Harden could extend off that 2022-23 salary for three years and 161 million this year or wait until next summer after picking up the option and add four years to his deal。
哈登的情況略有不同。以他的情況來看，在2022-23賽季簽下一個價值4740萬美元的球員選項在財務上更有意義，這比哈登在2022-23賽季延長合同的可能性還要大。哈登可以延長2022-23賽季的工資期，今年可以達到1。61億美元，或者等到明年夏天再簽約。
Whatever the mechanism， Brooklyn currently appears headed toward committing nearly half a billion dollars to the team’s three stars， which would mean massive luxury-tax bills —— particularly after the Nets became tax repeaters in 2023-24。 The Nets appear willing to pay that price to retain their stars。
不管是什麼機制，布魯克林目前似乎正朝著將近5億美元投資於球隊的三星球員的方向發展，這將意味著鉅額的奢侈稅——尤其是在籃網隊在2023-2024賽季成為稅收廢除者之後。籃網似乎願意為了留住球星而付出這樣的代價。
Better health biggest factor for Brooklyn
更好的健康是布魯克林最大的因素
Before extending Durant， the Nets made a handful of moves targeted at the team‘s bench。 On draft night， Brooklyn agreed to send backup guard Landry Shamet to the Phoenix Suns for fellow guard Jevon Carter and the 29th overall pick used on North Carolina center Day’Ron Sharpe。 The Nets also drafted LSU guard Cameron Thomas with their own pick， No。 27 overall。
在延長杜蘭特之前，籃網做了一些移動的目標是球隊的板凳球員。在選秀之夜，布魯克林同意把替補後衛蘭德里 · 沙梅特送到菲尼克斯太陽隊，換下另一名後衛傑文 · 卡特和北卡中鋒羅恩 · 夏普。籃網還選擇了路易斯安那州立大學的後衛卡梅隆 · 托馬斯和他們自己的選秀權，總排名27。
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星期一到星期五，主持人巴勃羅 · 託瑞將帶你進入 ESPN 最有趣的故事，這些故事是由頂級記者和業內人士講述的。聽著
During free agency， Brooklyn has brought back two key contributors in center Blake Griffin and positionless Bruce Brown Jr。 The Nets completed a sign-and-trade sending Spencer Dinwiddie to the Washington Wizards and lost backup big man Jeff Green to the Denver Nuggets。 They replaced Green with forward James Johnson while using their taxpayer midlevel exception to add longtime San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills as additional depth in the backcourt。
在自由球員市場，布魯克林帶回了兩個關鍵的貢獻者，中鋒布萊克格里芬和沒有職位的布魯斯布朗。籃網完成了一個先簽後換的交易，把斯賓塞·丁威迪送到了華盛頓奇才，替補大個 Jeff Green 輸給了丹佛掘金。他們用前鋒詹姆斯 · 約翰遜取代了格林，同時利用他們納稅人的中層特例增加了聖安東尼奧馬刺的長期後衛帕蒂 · 米爾斯作為後場增加的深度。
Ultimately， those changes won‘t matter much in the postseason if Brooklyn’s Big Three can‘t stay healthy。 After the Nets cruised past the Boston Celtics in five games in the opening round， Harden aggravated a hamstring strain in the early stages of Game 1 against Milwaukee。 The Nets still won the first two games of the series at home without Harden and were up 2-1 when Irving suffered an ankle sprain。 With Harden severely limited and Irving unavailable the last three games of the series， Brooklyn lost a heartbreaking Game 7 at home in overtime。
最終，如果布魯克林的三巨頭不能保持健康，那麼這些變化在季後賽中就不會有太大的影響。在第一輪的5場比賽中，籃網輕鬆戰勝波士頓凱爾特人後，哈登在第一場對陣密爾沃基的比賽中加重了肌腱拉傷。網隊在沒有哈登的情況下仍然贏得了系列賽的前兩場比賽，歐文腳踝扭傷時，網隊以2-1領先。由於哈登嚴重受限，歐文缺席了系列賽的最後三場比賽，布魯克林在加時賽中在主場輸掉了令人心碎的第七場比賽。
Knowing how close they were to beating the Bucks must have made it difficult for the Nets to watch Milwaukee go on to beat the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns for the franchise’s first title since 1971。 Brooklyn came within an inch of winning Game 7 when Durant‘s shot late in regulation was ruled a game-tying 2-pointer rather than a 3 that would have given the Nets the lead。
知道他們離擊敗雄鹿只有一步之遙，籃網肯定很難看到密爾沃基擊敗亞特蘭大老鷹和菲尼克斯太陽贏得自1971年以來的第一個總冠軍。布魯克林差一點就贏得了第七場比賽，杜蘭特在常規賽後半段的投籃被裁定為兩分命中，而不是一個本可以讓網隊取得領先的三分。
Looking forward， Brooklyn’s ability to give the eventual champions everything they could handle in a playoff series bodes well。 Aging is a concern for the Nets， whose three stars will all be in their 30s by the start of the postseason。 Nonetheless， with Durant another year removed from Achilles tendon surgery， Brooklyn deserves to enter next season as the title favorites。
展望未來，布魯克林有能力在季後賽系列賽中給最終的冠軍一切他們可以處理的好兆頭。老齡化是籃網的一個問題，他們的三位球星在季後賽開始時都將30多歲。儘管如此，杜蘭特又一年沒有接受跟腱手術，布魯克林有資格作為冠軍最愛進入下賽季。