No real winners, no real losers. In the end, Durant, Nets reconciliation was only path

If we break down a big trade with winners and losers, can we do the same with a trade that never happened?

Some might argue Kevin Durant is a loser in all this. He did demand a trade, didn’t have the leverage to get to where he wanted to go, issued a “GM and the coach or me” ultimatum to try and push things along, and weeks later had to retract his demand and return to Brooklyn. Still, calling a guy about to start a $194 million contract to play for a title contender in the nation’s largest media market a “loser” stretches the definition of the word.

Were the Nets really winners? They got what they wanted in keeping Durant, but with the bad blood around the Kyrie Irving extension talks and the Durant trade demand, are the Nets better now than they were before this all started? Does anyone think the drama around this team is over for the long term? The scars from this will not heal quickly and very well may be re-opened.

Were the Heat, Suns, and Celtics winners? Are they better off for their involvement in the Durant trade talks? Boston has some relationship mending to do with one of their core players, Jaylen Brown, after his name came up in trade rumors. (Team president Brad Stevens said he has been transparent and spoken to Brown through the process, but that is likely just a start.)

There were no winners, no losers. Durant’s reconciliation with the Nets had started to look like the only wise path, but that doesn’t mean everyone will come into camp without wounds from the summer’s drama.

The key is Durant will come into the Nets’ training camp. The only other real path open to him — a holdout — was not the smart play. First, at age 34, Durant only has so many seasons left to chase another ring and only so many seasons