Kevin Durant’s trade request earlier this offseason rocked the NBA world in a way like few things have in recent times. It seemingly came out of nowhere and sent everybody into a frenzy.
A player of his caliber becoming available for trade was not something you see happen often so there was understandably a lot of interest in acquiring him. Durant also listed out his preferred trade destinations which included teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat.
Stephen Curry Said That Kevin Durant Had Unrealistic Expectations
The catch, however, was that he wanted those teams to pull off a deal without giving away their superstars, which was never going to happen. Acquiring KD would require perhaps the biggest trade haul in NBA history and as the Nets also stood firm by refusing to budge on their high asking price, things just got all the more difficult. Durant’s former teammate Stephen Curry had a conversation with Snoop Dogg earlier this offseason, where he too stated that KD had unrealistic expectations.
via Rolling Stone:
Curry suggested that Durant had unrealistic expectations that his preferred destinations would retain superstar rosters, despite Brooklyn’s high asking price: “Man, he thinks that they’re gonna go to teams — like if he went to Phoenix — that they’re gonna be the same team if he’s there,” Curry told Snoop. Of the Boston Celtics, he said, “They have a little bit of everything, but they would have to deal with the organizational transition to get rid of Jaylen [Brown]. He’s such a pivotal piece.… If they would have done that—” Curry broke apart his fingertips in an explosion, and agreed with Snoop that Durant was better off staying with the Nets.
He was right on point there as Durant was better off staying with the Nets, which is what ended up happening. The Suns would have had to gut their roster to come up with an offer that the Nets would be willing to accept, which in turn, would mean KD would be going into a situation where winning was going to be very difficult. The Celtics would have to give up a lot too and they would also have to deal with the impact of moving someone like Jaylen Brown as Curry stated.
Durant now needs to refocus on helping the Nets win a title, as the situation he is in right now, gives him a better shot at winning than any team he would have ended up on via trade. While he felt Durant was being unrealistic here, Curry did speak glowingly of his former teammate, as he stated that he loves him and that KD is misunderstood.
