Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets speaks during a press conference at Brooklyn Nets Media Day
Ever since Kevin Durant made his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors, he has been under a bit of a media microscope. The media microscope has only grown since he joined forces with Kyrie Irving as members of the Brooklyn Nets. Durant is no stranger to declaring his qualms with the media and how they report things, whether that is publicly in a press conference or on Twitter, he will let you know.
This summer, the Nets had constant rumors swirling, starting with them possibly trading Ben Simmons, then the Kyrie Irving contract negotiations, and then the well-known trade request. During that time, the only updates were coming from the media, and at times there were questions about the reasoning behind some of the reporting and leaks. So on Monday, September 26, fans got to hear directly from players, and Durant was one of them who addressed trade rumors for the first time publicly. He talked about everything from his request, where he stands with Steve Nash and more at Monday’s press conference.
Kevin Durant Sounds Off on Media after Media Day
After a day of talking to the media, Kevin Durant checked Twitter and saw some reporting or quotes that he took exception with. In it Matt Brooks of Nets Daily shared a reply Durant gave about possibly requesting another trade in which Brooks quoted him saying, “I don’t feel like I’ve gotta prove anything to Net fans after 3 years. I’m committed to moving forward with this team. If you’ve got doubts, that’s on you.”
Durant took to Twitter with his reply, frustrated with the wording of the question in Brooks’ tweet and giving that as a reason he doesn’t like talking with the media.
“This sh*t here is why I don’t like talkin to lames like you. This isn’t the question he asked but you love engagement on twitter so u will twist sh*t up,” Durant tweeted.
Brooks, of course, was live tweeting from media day, and transcribing on the fly can be difficult to get an exact quote in the questioning, and that is important to note. However, from Durant’s tweet, it doesn’t look like this is the first time he has had a qualm with some of the headlines for engagement.
Kyrie Irving Sounds Off on Durant’s Trade Request
Durant wasn’t the only one to speak candidly about his trade request. Kyrie Irving also shared what it was like for him and how he felt about Durant’s demand for a trade out of Brooklyn.
“It was on Kev from the beginning, and I honored his request, and I understood it. There was a level of uncertainty in this building. Not just for last year but the last few years and that accountability that he asked for should be available and accessible at all times, and we should have that kind of environment so I echoed his same sentiments, and I felt the same way.”
Irving noted that Kevin Durant’s trade request was a bit awkward, especially as he had just opted-in to return to Brooklyn for the final year of his contract.
“The awkwardness I say, I speak for when he asked for it it’s just one of those shocking things that you have as a best friend and you’re watching your best friend go through now the other side of the media storm that comes with this trade request and being in the middle of you know it’s kind of like a clusterf*ck, like all of this. All the stories. We’ve come all the narratives surrounding this team that it it’s hard to answer every single question you have about us and what our intent is.”
Irving further commented, assuring that returning to the Nets was the best situation for Irving and Durant.
“I’ll do my best to say that I honored what Kev had going on, and I was wishing him the best, and this was the best opportunity for him, and it was the best opportunity me, and we feel good. It’s not just about us, but it’s about how great we are as teammates and our team. Just a great team, and that’s all I’m going to keep saying.”