This NBA offseason has been a roller coaster ride for the Brooklyn Nets. Shortly after playing a game of chicken with Kyrie Irving, in which the Nets called his bluff and he opted into his contract for the 2022-23 season, Kevin Durant shocked the franchise by requesting a trade.
At the time, no one was truly sure as to why Durant made the request. He and Irving were going to be playing together for at least one more season, which many presumed is what Durant wanted. However, things have changed this offseason when it comes to Durant and his relationship with the Nets.
Opinions of Durant’s request and how he has gone about things recently are certainly mixed, to say the least. Brooklyn is in this position in large part because of moves that he and Irving urged the franchise to make. Calling for general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash to be fired if he is not traded is certainly a bit outlandish, especially since Nash is who Durant and Irving helped pick to replace Kenny Atkinson.
Alas, Durant isn’t someone that cares much about what other people think about him. In fact, according to Marc Stein on his Substack, sources have indicated that Durant feels justified in his request because of a change in how the Nets are doing things.
“Brooklyn’s change in approach since the season ended is thus believed to be a key driver in Durant’s sudden desire to leave. For all the criticism he is taking for trying to force his way out, and most recently taking the extreme step of calling for the ousters of [general manager Sean Marks] and coach Steve Nash if the Nets refuse to trade him, Durant appears to be operating under the belief that he is justified in making all these rebel demands because the Nets have abruptly changed the terms of their deal.”
What terms of a deal have been changed is anyone’s guess. The Nets have had some roster turnover, as Andre Drummond, Goran Dragic and Bruce Brown left as free agents. Nicolas Claxton, Patty Mills and Kessler Edwards were re-signed, while T.J. Warren was brought in from the Indiana Pacers.
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The change could be that the organization is no longer letting Durant and Irving call the shots. According to Stein, the ability to get pretty much whatever they wanted is what led the duo to Brooklyn in the first place.
Stein also reported Durant and Irving “perceived Brooklyn, as much as anything, to be willing to bend to their will far more than James Dolan-owned New York would. That is no longer happening, hence the chaos.”
The New York Knicks were expected to make a big splash in 2019 when they cleared a ton of cap space to be buyers in free agency. Things didn’t end up going according to plan, but they are now on a good path with Leon Rose and Scott Perry leading the front office with William Wesley since March of 2020.
In that span of time, the Nets have won one more playoff series than the Knicks despite having three times as many playoff appearances. After bending to their every whim for three seasons, the Nets are now pushing back and Durant wants to go to a team that is ready to win right away.
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