Getty Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Brooklyn Nets are stuck in a bit of drama this offseason with the Kevin Durant trade request looming over their head.
Durant requested a trade at the end of June, and so far there doesn’t seem to be any indication he’ll be moved in the near future. According to Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett, a meeting between Durant and Nets owner Joe Tsai is taking place, or perhaps already has, about the request.
“What I’m hearing is that KD is going to meet with the owner this week,” an anonymous NBA executive told Bulpett. “He’s going to go directly to the owner, Joe Tsai, sometime this week. We’ll see how that works.”
If Durant doesn’t take back his trade request, the Nets will be left in an awkward spot, and it’s something that could’ve been avoided if you ask FS1 analyst Skip Bayless.
Bayless, a big Durant defender, argues that Durant has made one mistake through his career, and it was trusting Kyrie Irving.
Bayless Takes Aim
Bayless’ comments come after NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal criticized Kevin Durant by saying he should stay in Brooklyn and make it work.
“When you put a house together, you should live in it …” O’Neal said on “The Rich Eisen Show”. “You, as a leader, should make it work, but you don’t want to make it work; I guess you go buy another house. You know, he’s probably trying to get to a contender. It’s easier that way.”
Bayless built off the point by saying Durant isn’t even a leader on his own, echoing Charles Barkley’s comments of the star being a bus rider instead of the driver, and said he followed Irving instead.
“I don’t believe Kevin Durant put this house together at all,” Bayless said on the August 3 episode of “Undisputed.” “He is more of a follower than a leader. He made one huge mistake in his career following the wrong leader in Kyrie.”
A lot of Durant’s recent reputation stems from when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors where he won two NBA titles. Since coming to Brooklyn with Irving, the duo haven’t been able to find much success together.
What’s Happening With Durant?
As of right now, it’s tough to say what the future looks like for the Nets and Durant. His trade request is still out there as far as anybody knows, and that will cast a huge shadow over the team.
If Durant decides to sit out games like Ben Simmons did when he wanted out of Philadelphia, then the Nets will be in a very tough spot. The star forward still has four years left on his deal, so Brooklyn could decide to play hard ball and keep him on the team, but that won’t do them much good if he’s not playing at all.
This is definitely a situation teams around the league are happy to not be in, as the Nets have to deal with not only Durant, but Irving’s future as well.
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Nets Star Made ‘One Huge Mistake’ in His Career, NBA Analyst Says