Kevin Durant continues to be the hottest talking point of the offseason, as the drama surrounding the Nets superstar just shows no signs of slowing down. Durant requested a trade over a month ago, and he is still with the Nets, as they have refused to trade him unless they get a significant haul in return.
He evidently was getting frustrated by the lack of any real movement on the trade front and decided that he needed to do something to force their hand, which resulted in him reportedly issuing that ultimatum to Joe Tsai. While Tsai released a statement in which he supported Sean Marks and Steve Nash, it still hasn’t done much in terms of forcing the Nets’ hand here, as their asking price has not budged. As Durant desperately tries to find a way out, Kendrick Perkins threw some shade at him on NBA Today, as he questioned if KD really has the kind of power that he thinks he has, as he is having to resort to these tactics.
(starts at 3:25 mark):
“He calls himself the god and now I’m starting to question a little bit the power of Kevin Durant. And I always talk about this, do you wanna be popular or you wanna be powerful? KD asked for a trade about five weeks ago and said he wanted out, okay he didn’t move the needle. All of a sudden, Kevin Durant comes back and now he gives Joe Tsai an ultimatum that says it’s either me or Sean Marks and Steve Nash, he still don’t move the needle.”
“Now, all of a sudden there’s speculation that he might consider retiring, to all of a sudden he has to move the needle to that aspect? So, I’m trying to see right now, does KD really have the juice that he think he has? Because if he did, he wouldn’t have to go through all these necessary steps to get what he wants… he has to go through all this just to get what he wants in a franchise? It’s kinda concerning and I’m confused about the whole situation.”
Well, the reason he doesn’t have any power in this situation is because he has 4 years left on his contract, and he isn’t getting any younger. Durant can ill afford to sit out a season or do something along those lines, and the Nets know that too.
We might not see a resolution for a while here, but reports indicate that Durant will continue to cause trouble behind the scenes to get the Nets to reduce their asking price. He seems hellbent on getting out, and you can only wonder what he is going to do next.
