Getty Kevin Durant, Nets
In the aftermath of the February 5 blockbuster trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, the Brooklyn Nets are also weighing their options as it pertains to the future of Kevin Durant, per ESPN NBA Insider Brian Windhorst.
“Now that Kyrie has been traded, maybe the Nets’ position on not trading Durant as it really was kind of last summer may change,” Windhorst said on the February 8 edition of ESPN’s “Get Up!” per NetsDaily.
“That is an interesting development that has happened over the last 48 hours since the Kyrie trade from people that I’ve talked to.”
However, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that if Durant does request a trade out of Brooklyn, the Nets will not be open to moving him, at least not before the February 9 deadline.
“In the aftermath of the Kyrie Irving trade, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has been engaged in conversations with owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks on the direction of the franchise and its ability to be a championship contender,” Wojnarowski writes per ESPN.
“So far, the Nets have insisted to Durant and inquiring teams that the organization has no intention of moving him before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline.”
In aftermath of Kyrie Irving trade, the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant are having ongoing conversations on the direction of the franchise, but organization has thus far told inquiring teams that they’re not planning to trade him before Thursday’s deadline, sources tell ESPN.
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Insider: Kevin Durant Should ‘Feel a Way’ About Kyrie Trade
Throughout the 7/11 era, the perception was that Durant and Irving came as a packaged deal. They agreed to join Nets the same year for that very reason. Durant’s decision to join the Nets was a head-scratcher for some. He had gone to the NBA Finals every year since joining the Warriors in 2016 and had two championships and two NBA Finals MVPs to show for it. In addition, he faced an uphill battle to return to the court after rupturing his Achilles in the 2019 Finals.
Now he is again left to pick up the pieces after yet another superstar demanded a trade out of Brooklyn. NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports says that Durant should “feel a way” following Kyrie’s departure. Especially after watching the Warriors win a championship last June.
“I haven’t spoken to Kevin or anyone around him so I don’t want to speak for him but, if I’m Kevin I would imagine that I’d feel a way because ultimately he stuck out his neck last summer as in relation to requesting that trade and then ultimately when it comes down to just… the partnership that Ky and Kevin had it was an incomplete,” Robinson said on the February 6 episode of the “Under the Hood” podcast.
“Nobody saw COVID-19 coming and nobody necessarily saw that link that Ky tweeted coming and all of the drama that came with it. But I’ll tell you that those two guys had craftily put together a plan to bring a championship to the borough of Brooklyn and it just didn’t happen that way, and that’s unfortunate, and it’s gut-wrenching because you look at the [Golden State] Warriors who won a championship last year and if I’m Kevin, I’d be like, Damn… I came to New York for THIS?!?!?? And my old team won another championship after? You know, it kind of makes you observe, pause and reflect and kind of again say, Damn. THIS is what I signed up for?… So if I’m him, I’m disappointed.”
Kevin Durant: I’ll Always Be a Warrior
Despite a rocky exit from the Bay Area in 2019, Durant holds firm that there is no bad blood between him and his former Warrior teammates. In an interview with Kerith Burke of “NBC Sports Bay Area”, Durant spoke on the relationships he’s kept with his former Warrior teammates since his move to Brooklyn.
“It’s good to see from afar that everyone’s doing well and realize that these bonds we created will never be broken,” Durant told Burke in 2021. “No matter what jerseys we put on, no matter what part of the country we all live in, I’m very grateful for my time in the Bay Area, and I’ll always be a Warrior in my heart.”
Durant made the tough decision to move on from the Warriors and is now looking to recreate that same success with the Nets. Seeing his former team reach the mountaintop again had to have been a motivating factor to win another ring. Nobody knows what KD’s future in Brooklyn holds, but if he were to bring the Nets their first NBA title, it would be one of his greatest career feats.