Kevin Durant turned 33 this week as he enters his 15th season in the NBA.

Durant says he is "more at ease" and relaxed mentally at this stage of his career as opposed to when he was younger.

"[When you are younger] you want to establish yourself in the league," Durant said Thursday after the Nets' practice at their training camp at the University of San Diego. "Sometimes you may overthink it and may think too much about reactions and opinions of others because you are on the journey to perfection. But start to relax a little bit and understand what this is about and understand the long game, and it definitely made my mental a little bit more at ease coming to the gym every day and not focusing on that stuff."

The Brooklyn Nets are widely considered the title favorites, but Durant says the pressure will not affect this veteran group.

"Yeah, outside pressure don't really matter much," Durant said when asked whether pressure is even an issue at this stage in his career. "I think we all internally put pressure on ourselves because we hold ourselves to a high standard and you want to play well every time you step out there; that is just who we are as competitors.

"As far as the outside noise, no disrespect for you guys [in the media], for our families, friends and even our fans expecting us to do so much -- if we don't live up to those, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. But we want to come out and play a great brand of basketball every night and we hold ourselves to that standard. I expect us to come out there with some swagger and some intensity. But outside noise shouldn't matter much to this group."

Goran Dragic reported to the Toronto Raptors despite initially expressing a hope he would end up with a contending team following his trade from the Miami Heat.

According to TSN, the Raptors still hope to trade Dragic for an asset or two by the deadline.

“He's been fantastic,” Nick Nurse said. “I checked in with him after the trade, a few days after some of that stuff. We discussed possible roles, and he's just like, 'coach, whatever, I'm good’. He's very enjoyable to talk to. He's got a super high IQ. He loves the game, obviously, competes to win, plays smart. He's been really, really fun to have.”

Dragic addresses a need at the guard position as he could either play next to Fred VanVleet or he can also anchor a second unit.

The NBA has reached a 95 percent vaccination threshold of its players, indicating a rise since the opening of training camps.

The increase includes players who have received at least their first shot.

The NBA and NBPA have also agreed on continuing stringent regulations for unvaccinated players for the season.

The Washington Wizards can officially present a four-year, $181.5 million extension to Bradley Beal on Friday.

Beal previously signed a two-year, $72 million in October 2019.

Tommy Sheppard said in an interview earlier this month the team plans to offer the extension “at dawn.”

Beal, however, will take slightly more time to decide. 

“My biggest thing is getting us off going to a good start,” Beal said Monday, after noting the deal is for Sheppard, team owner Ted Leonsis and his agent Mark Bartelstein to figure out. “We worry about the contract money and all that later. I’ll let them deal with it when the time comes, for sure. I got all year to sign, too. So I’m not in a rush.”

Beal could stand to earn roughly $50 million more if he waits and chooses to become a free agent in 2022. Beal will by then have reached 10 years of service in the NBA and be eligible for a contract worth 35 percent of the salary cap.

Joel Embiid responded to a report this week that indicated Ben Simmons feels his career would be in a better place if he didn't play with Embiid.

“I saw (the report),” Embiid said. “I don’t know if it came from him or whatever, but over the past few months stuff has been put out there. And, looking by the reaction of him not being here, I feel like it’s fair to assume that it’s coming from ... whether it’s his agent or his people or whatever. Like I said, it is disappointing, but I feel like over the years the way our team has been built around — like you look at last year, I was the worst three-point shooter of the starting lineup and I shot 38 percent from three. 

“We’ve always had shooters, and I feel like I can really play with anybody and I can make anybody be better on the court. I don’t necessarily need shooters. But I feel like over the years — like you look at when we got Al (Horford), it’s because we needed a stretch five, just to make sure that was for him. And most of my career I’ve had to kind of step out to the three-point line quite a bit — which I don’t mind. I like to be a basketball player; I like to do everything on the basketball court. But I feel like our teams have been built — whether it’s the shooting, the stretch five and all that stuff — I feel like he’s always had it here.”

Embiid continued and spoke of the many three-point shooters still on Philadelphia's roster. 

“It was kind of surprising to see what was said,” Embiid continued. “Even going back to the reason we signed Al. We got rid of Jimmy (Butler), which I still think was a mistake, but he needed the ball in his hands and that’s the decision they made. But, like I said, it is surprising. But I’m really focused on the guys that are here. 

“The situation is weird, disappointing, borderline kind of disrespectful to all the guys that are out here fighting for their lives. Some guys rely on the team to be successful, to stay in the league and make money somehow. Because, if you’re on a winning team, you’re always going to have a spot in the league, just because you’re on a winning team and you contributed. Obviously we’re a better team with him. We’re not a better team without him, that’s for sure. We are a better team with him but, like I said, it is surprising. But I’m focused on the guys that are here. 

“We’re trying to get better, trying to get on the same agenda. … Every single day we’ve got to attack it, and try to get better every single day. But we are a better team with him. There’s no question about it. We still hope that he changes his mind, but I owe it to these guys to worry about what we have here. That’s the front office’s job to figure out what’s going to happen. That’s not my job; I’m not a GM, I’m not an owner, so that’s none of my business, honestly.”

Simmons is currently holding out but the 76ers hope he eventually reports. 

The Golden State Warriors have promoted Mike Dunleavy Jr. to Vice President, Basketball Operations. Dunleavy recently completed his second season as assistant general manager after previously serving as a Pro Scout.

The Warriors also promoted Nick U'Ren to Executive Director, Basketball Operations and Zaza Pachulia as Liaison, Basketball and Business.

U'Ren was previously Director of Basketball Operations.

Steve Kerr has emerged as the favorite to replace Gregg Popovich as head coach of USA Basketball, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack.

Erik Spoelstra is another natural candidate but he lacks prior experience on the national team coaching staff, which is believed to be a prerequisite for the job.

Kerr was an assistant under Popovich on the Olympic team that overcame a loss to France in its opener in Tokyo to win the gold.

The decision on who to hire as head coach is the first one for Grant Hill since replacing Jerry Colangelo. 

When Kyrie Irving took a personal leave last January, the Houston Rockets inquired about the potential availability of him in James Harden trade talks.

Sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report that the Nets never entertained trading Irving.

Multiple executives across the league have speculated that a trade of Irving to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons could solve each of their problems. Irving is currently unable to play home games with the Nets due to his position on not taking a COVID-19 vaccine, while Simmons has requested a trade and doesn't plan to report.

Several league sources with knowledge of the situation have strongly pushed back on the notion that either Irving or the Nets are interested in a trade. 

"Kyrie came to Brooklyn to win a championship alongside Kevin Durant," one veteran executive told Bleacher Report.

James Harden's camp, meanwhile, have communicated that they expect Irving to remain with the Nets.

The Nets have worked patiently behind closed doors with Irving during other incidents.

"I'm sure Sean Marks and Steve Nash aren't thrilled with the situation, but despite all the s--t that goes on, they still treat him really well there," one league source with knowledge of the situation said. "They hear him out. They make the effort to try and communicate with him. That's why Brooklyn is a special place."

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Sabreena Merchant (@sabreenajm) of SB Nation joins to discuss whether the LA Clippers can bottle their playoff formula for this season without Kawhi Leonard.

With host Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA). And if you like this pod, please donate to support Nate and Danny at Patreon.com/DuncanLeroux. Merchandise available at NateDuncanNBA.com.

The Detroit Pistons have waived Deividas Sirvydis.

The Pistons have also signed Jared Cunningham to their training camp roster.