Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on April 25, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
The Kevin Durant trade drama has come to an end as the superstar has decided to stick with the Brooklyn Nets.
Durant’s trade request came on June 30 and through weeks and weeks of drama about whether he’ll be staying or going, he finally decided to stay after a meeting with Joe Tsai and head coach Steve Nash.
Throughout the saga, it seemed like much of free agency was on hold, and players who would’ve usually signed by now like Carmelo Anthony or Blake Griffin, remain unsigned.
Current Utah Jazz guard Patrick Beverley, traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Rudy Gobert deal, took a shot at Durant over how things played out.
Yal can sit and don’t say nothing but that ain’t cool. It’s dudes with families out here who haven’t got a job because of this KD shit. And to be on and off ain’t cool. Blessing Gang🙏🏾🏀
“Yal can sit and don’t say nothing but that ain’t cool,” he tweeted. “It’s dudes with families out here who haven’t got a job because of this KD sh*t. And to be on and off ain’t cool. Blessing Gang.”
Durant fired back at the point guard with a simple message: “#BLAMEKD.”
Back and Forth Continues
Beverley wasn’t happy with the response by Durant, and he responded to him by saying it wasn’t about him.
“Damn gang who said I was talking about u,” he replied. “I’m speaking of how it was done. Both sides need keep that private. But noted.”
Since Durant requested the trade, signings have slowed to a near halt after teams waited to see how things shook out if he was traded.
As it turns out, Durant was going nowhere and it looks like he’ll be creating a Big 3 in Brooklyn that consists of Durant, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving. Irving had his share of drama this offseason that concluded just before the trade request.
After a tumultuous summer, the Nets are going to be going into the year as NBA title contenders with a real shot at winning it all if everyone is healthy and available.
Building Chemistry
Something the Nets haven’t been able to do is build any sort of chemistry with each other between Durant’s injury last season, Irving’s ineligibility and the fact Simmons didn’t play in a single game with the team.
Presumably, all three of them will be in the lineup on opening night and the team should be among the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Before Durant’s midseason injury last year, the Nets were the number one seed before sliding all the way to the play-in tournament.
Although the Nets ultimately made the playoffs, they were swept in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference champs Boston Celtics. There were a variety of reasons for that, but a big reason has to be the fact that Irving and Durant barely played together all season, and having your two stars have next to no chemistry together is no recipe for success.
Hopefully, the team will be able to avoid problems like that for this upcoming season, but there might be some awkwardness with coach Steve Nash considering Durant wanted him fired at one point.
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