A few months back, in March, Logan Murdock of The Ringer, traveled to Brooklyn to research a profile of Kevin Durant, entitled “Let It Go,” a study of how KD had gone Zen, had learned to relax.

Lillard posted that image of himself standing alongside Durant in a Trail Blazers uniform sometime Saturday afternoon. By Saturday evening, it was gone.

Damian Lillard makes hard recruiting pitch to Kevin Durant

Why wouldn't Nurkic and everyone else associated with the Trail Blazers not want to join their franchise player in his pitch to Durant.

Because of course. Why wouldn't Nurkic and everyone else associated with the Trail Blazers not want to join their franchise player in his pitch to Durant.

A Brooklyn Nets season that started with championship expectations ended in the flames of a first-round sweep by the Boston Celtics fueled by the sabotage of Kyrie Irving

In that case, would Durant be interested in a move to Portland? On a purely basketball front, it's a more than intriguing prospect.

 Durant's approaching the first year of a four-year, $194 million extension that has him under Brooklyn's control through the 2025-26 season — unless they trade him first.