Getty Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns.
Time is supposed to heal all wounds but, in the case of former Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, it may be having the opposite effect.
In a sidebar from a larger discussion about his legacy, primarily regarding his two championships won with the Golden State Warriors, Durant was posed with the idea that his interactions with critics on social media are “weird behavior disguised as fun”.
Durant clapped back, as he is wont to do, saying that Nets fans are making him the “enemy”.
@DumbArsePidgeon @Mike_Coop20 Stop messing with me and go pick up a new hobby. Net fans gotta stop actin like I’m the enemy lol
Just days earlier, Durant tweeted and then deleted a tweet saying Nets fans were “making s*** up” about his role in Denver Nuggets sparkplug Bruce Brown’s departure last offseason. Brown said that Nets general manager Sean Marks and Co. wanted him back but some players did not, though he did not name anyone specifically.
“Front office-wise, they’re great, they’re amazing,” Brown said on the ‘Dan Le Batard Show with Stugots‘ on May 25. “I love Sean Marks, [Jeff Peterson]. But I think, locker-room-wise, it was cool, but we didn’t do much together off the court.”
Brown and the Nuggets are one win away from the first championship in franchise history.
Fans immediately pinned it on Durant which the former Oklahoma City Thunder star was having none of before taking the tweet down.
Mikal Bridges Welcomes Being Different from Nets Ex-Big 3
The Nets looked like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference during their 12-game winning streak that spanned the better part of December into January. But, following the trade request of Kyrie Irving being granted, Durant wanted out too, requesting a trade for the second time he had requested a trade in eight months.
Marks obliged, sending him to Phoenix for a package of Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, and first-round picks. Bridges has been vocal about being different from the previous Nets era’s stars.
“I’m the total opposite of all them dudes,” Bridges told the crew on ‘The Pivot Podcast’ on May 20. “You’re never gonna catch me off-camera doing some crazy s***.”
Mikal made history this year 👀
Bridges took a shart star turn after arriving in the deal.
He averaged 26.1 points on 60.7% true shooting in 27 regular-season appearances and has essentially been deemed off-limits for trade this offseason. Brooklyn already rejected an offer of four first-round picks, albeit from the Memphis Grizzlies who figure to be picking towards the latter portion of the first round for the foreseeable future.
The gregarious 26-year-old is also not shy about recruiting players to his new team, even Eastern Conference Rivals.
Mikal Bridges Recruiting Celtics’ Grant Williams
Bridges first sent a distress signal out to Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams on June 9, calling for the 24-year-old restricted free agent to “save the city”. Taking it one step further, he was spotted at the New York Liberty’s win over the Dallas Wings on June 11.
Mikal Bridges and Grant Williams are loving the energy in Barclays at the Wings-Liberty game 😆
Williams could be too expensive for the Celtics to retain long-term and the Nets could be aggressive in offering him the full mid-level exception worth $12.2 million, per Spotrac. Boston could always match it but the new CBA is highly punitive to tax teams while Williams can play 3-through-5 and shot 39.5% from beyond the arc last season.