There likely isn’t a team in the NBA ready to get the 2022-23 season started more than the Brooklyn Nets. Mired in drama throughout the offseason, they are ready to get back to work on the court. Brooklyn is looking to bounce back from their first-round exit in the 2022 NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Boston Celtics, who swept them.
For a few weeks over the summer, it looked like the Nets would have a drastically different roster this season than when they lost to the Celtics. Kyrie Irving had explored leaving before exercising his player option because of a cold market he believes was courtesy of the stigma around him.
The team also had to deal with a trade request made by Kevin Durant. The former MVP issued his request just days after Irving opted in. Part of the reason that he made that request was because of the uncertainty surrounding the franchise.
While each side was able to put their differences aside and agreed to continue their partnership, some relationships needed to be mended. One of them was likely between Durant and head coach Steve Nash.
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Nash, along with general manager Sean Marks, were two people that Durant said he wanted gone in an ultimatum that he gave to the franchise. That wasn’t a move that was seriously considered.
At Media Day, Nash answered questions on several topics. Not surprisingly, people asked about how he felt regarding the ultimatum provided by Durant. His response would surprise some people.
“Knowing Kevin as long as I have, it didn’t really bother me the way everyone would think,” Nash said Tuesday. “That’s a part of being competitors. I wasn’t overly surprised and I wasn’t even overly concerned.”
While the media portrayed it one way, Nash said that how the ultimatum was shared with the masses wasn’t the full story.
“I never thought that was a hundred percent,” Nash said. “It’s not black and white like that.”
“So many people fighting for clicks and headlines that’s the way the game’s reported on, people are going with stuff that’s not even accurate.”
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While some headlines are sensationalized to garner attention, this didn’t seem to be one of them. An ultimatum is a final demand. What other side of the story could there be that was missing? Durant wanted to be traded and he thought that he could force the organization’s hand by issuing an ultimatum he knew would never be fulfilled.
Nash was asked to clarify which part of the reports he didn’t find accurate, but he didn’t elaborate on them.
“I can’t even remember,” Nash said of the supposed inaccurate reports. “But I know when I would get it, most of the time, I would say well that’s not exactly accurate. So I’m not gonna re-referee everything that was reported. That’s life. I know how difficult it is to cover teams, especially professional sports, so that’s just a part of it. It’s impossible nowadays, how fast things move, to get everything right.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kevin Durant, Steve Nash & Brooklyn Nets Updates
For now, the Nets are drama free as they are focused on basketball and contending for a title. But, you can be sure that if they get off to a slower than anticipated start that drama will start right back up as there are probably more than a few people on hot seats entering the 2022-23 campaign.
