The trade request that Kevin Durant made to the Brooklyn Nets had another layer added to it in recent days. Things have been quiet the last few weeks as we hit a lull in the NBA calendar, but Durant threw fire on the situation with some of the comments that he made last week.
Durant’s stance on being traded hasn’t changed much, but he did deliver an ultimatum to the franchise. In a meeting with ownership, Durant made it clear that it is either him or the combination of general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash.
If both of them are fired, Durant would be open to remaining with the team. If they are not relieved of their duties, he wants to be traded as he no longer believes in the vision and path that the Nets are on with Marks and Nash leading the way.
That is a wild thing to say as Durant played a part in all of the moves that have led the Nets to this point. He wasn’t thrilled with Kenny Atkinson as head coach and pushed to have Nash hired, a move that he okayed. Durant also had some influence over Marks blowing up the roster and acquiring James Harden.
However, Durant was not alone in this. He picked the Nets in part to team up with Kyrie Irving, who also had some influence on the same decisions being made. Once again, he is in lockstep with Durant, as Irving has some strong feelings about Marks and Nash as well.
“Kyrie Irving hates these guys,” the source told The Post’s, Josh Kosman. “He feels that Nash is terrible and Marks is bad.”
While Marks was already general manager when Durant and Irving joined, they were part of the process to bring Nash in. While feelings about him may have changed over the last two seasons, these kinds of ultimatums are not ones that franchises usually respond positively to.
Brooklyn has certainly been put in a tough position. This could be more posturing by Durant and Irving to get what they ultimately want, which is a chance of scenery. But, owner Joe Tsai has made it clear that the Nets are not going to just give away their two best players as they want real value in return for them.
Latest NBA News & Trade Rumors: Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving & Kevin Durant
For the latest surrounding the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant, check out our NBA news and trade rumors feed.
Discussion about this post