Kevin Durant shocked the NBA world during the 2022 offseason by requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets exactly one day before the start of free agency. That was a huge move by the 2x NBA champion, but it never became more than a (shocking) request.
KD joined a list of stars that tried to force their way out of teams, but he didn’t have any success with his. The 2x NBA champion waited and waited, but no trade involving him happened, which prompted him to withdraw his request and run it back with the Nets.
This situation drew comparisons with prior trade requests, especially the ones involving James Harden, Anthony Davis, and Jimmy Butler. Harden pulled a similar card against the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, leaving both teams on not-so-good terms.
While AD had passive-aggressive messages for the New Orleans Pelicans, he was finally traded in the summer of 2019. As for Jimmy Butler, he had to go crazy against the Minnesota Timberwolves starters during a practice session to grant his trade.
Kevin Durant Doesn’t Feel He Was A Distraction For Teammates After Requesting A Trade
Talking with Nick Friedell of ESPN, Durant was asked if he thought his situation was similar to Harden, Davis, and Butler and if he thought the Nets would fall apart even with him staying, but the player dismissed that idea quickly.
As you well know, on a lot of other teams, when a star player asks for a trade, I’m thinking of James Harden with the Rockets, Jimmy Butler with the Timberwolves, Anthony Davis with the Pelicans, everything around that team seems to disintegrate even if that player stays after …
But you got to realize with their situations, when did that happen for them? During the middle of the season.
Well, Jimmy’s started in the summer …
[He got traded] during the middle of the season, when he was in Minnesota. Remember, he was playing games when he wasn’t — he was sitting out some games, he got traded in the middle of the season from Minnesota, right? James, the same way. AD, the same way. This was a summertime thing. We wasn’t playing no games. I didn’t interfere with what we were doing on the court every day. It wasn’t a question of what you were asking my teammates every day after a game or a practice. What I didn’t get in the way of the games that was being played, so I felt like that’s the difference in everything. So we hashed that all up right before camp, and it was cool, it didn’t get in the way of the hoops. So that’s the difference between what happened with those guys and [me].
Durant has a solid point there, and the biggest confirmation is that the Nets are now thriving after a rocky start to the season. Following a bad first run, which got Steve Nash fired as the team head coach, Jacque Vaughn took the reins of the squad, and right now, the Nets playing great basketball.
Vaughn was the perfect piece for this team, and KD knew they would do good things together. The Nets remain a hot team in the league, and they are looking like legit championship contenders. Time will tell if they can live up to expectations or if another disappointing season is coming.
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