On January 13th, Rich Paul met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in New York City.
The conversation transition to basketball, and Paul made a case for a James Harden for Ben Simmons trade between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, sources told ESPN.
Paul represents Simmons and it is hard to argue that there was a better situation for him anywhere other than Brooklyn.
Durant initially resisted the pitch, but he was injured 48 hours later and the Nets have been in free fall ever since.
While Durant may have initially preferred to keep Harden, the actions of Harden effectively asking out of Brooklyn made the decision for both Durant and the franchise.