Thursday was eventful for Nets superstar Kevin Durant. In the afternoon, he saw teammate James Harden traded to the 76ers. And in the evening, before he watched the Nets lose a heartbreaker to the Wizards, he selected his team for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game.
Durant, who is out with a knee injury, picked Harden's new teammate Joel Embiid with his first selection. He went on to add starters Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Andrew Wiggins and Trae Young. For his bench, KD selected LaMelo Ball, Devin Booker, Draymond Green, Zach LaVine, Khris Middleton, Dejounte Murray and Karl-Anthony Towns, before coming to a decision between the two final players available: Harden and Jazz center Rudy Gobert.
“I'm gonna need some size, for sure,” Durant said, tipping off his final pick. Harden is definitely closer to the kind of player who thrives at the All-Star Game than Gobert, a defense-first big man, but the Nets star explained the pick with a dry delivery as opposing captain LeBron James covered up his laughter with a clipboard.
