Getty Kevin Durant #7 and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets talk during their game against the Milwaukee Bucks
If we have learned one thing this week it should be that we all need a friend like Kevin Durant. After everything that he and the Brooklyn Nets have been through this year with Kyrie Irving, and he still has his friends back is impressive. After all of the Irving news broke, the Nets star broke his silence on how he feels about the contract negotiations with the star point guard.
“It’s no involvement at all. I can’t be involved with it. This is this man’s livelihood. This is much bigger than me. Being a free agent it’s one of the most important times in your career. That can’t be swayed by anybody else. I just do me and wait for the time,” Durant said on the latest episode of “The ETC’s”.
“There’s nothing that can happen right now. I don’t think he can even make a decision on opting out until the 29th, I think. I just let things play out and see what happens but keep the regular contact up with Kai and see what happens. It’s something that’s so much out of my control that I don’t want to be a part of it. We’ll see what happens, though.”
With reports stating multiple scenarios that Kyrie may leave, Durant commented on what that would mean for their friendship.
“That’s where I’m at with it. Basketball is obviously the most important thing, but I try not to let that get in the way of somebody else’s personal decision. Like I said, whatever happens, the friendship will still be there,” Durant said.
We know where Durant stands with his friendship with Kyrie Irving, but how does he feel about the Nets organization. Logan Murdock of The Ringer, who spent time with Durant for a March profile, reported where the forward may stand with the Nets as an organization.
Durant Has ‘Uneasiness’ With Nets Front Office
On the latest episode of the Ringer’s Mismatch podcast, Murdock shared some of what he is hearing and feeling regarding the Nets front office.
“I made some calls. Kevin Durant has not talked to the team in weeks. I don’t think Kevin is confident in the front office right now. I don’t know if he’s at the stage of leaving, but there’s a big uneasiness from not only from the Kyrie side but the KD side as well…
“His biggest beef is that he feels that the front office didn’t grow to understand Kyrie, whatever that means. I would push back on that when a guy leaves for two weeks at a time … Kyrie earns the lion’s share of the blame. But I think KD believes that ‘hey, you guys didn’t understand this guy. You didn’t try to figure out where he was coming from.’
“The Nets got rid of Adam Harrington. Who’s very close to Kevin. He’s one of Kevin’s guys. And that had a big ripple effect on how Kevin feels about this right now. He’s still in this figure-it-out mode, but there is some fire to that smoke that he’s kind of reevaluating where he stands with this.”
How things continue to play out with Irving and the organization will continue to fall together in the coming weeks, but it is safe to say the Nets may be at risk of losing both of their marquee stars.
Could Durant Leave Brooklyn?
The Kyrie Irving news created speculation about what happens with Kevin Durant if his friend is to leave this offseason. Would he want to stay in Brooklyn if they don’t build a contending team around him? NBA Insider Zach Lowe believes teams are already preparing as if Durant could be available to trade for in the next week.
“I can tell you this,” Zach Lowe said during The Lowe Post podcast. “This is what teams are doing. Teams are already operating under the… not the assumption, but we need to prepare for the contingency Kevin Durant is available via trade in six days, or seven days.”