At this point, it’s all but certain that Kevin Durant will do almost anything to get himself out of Brooklyn. Over the summer, he met with team owner Joe Tsai twice — the first time to demand a trade and the second to make a pretty bold ultimatum.
So far, Tsai has done practically nothing to cater to KD’s demands, and it looks like this marriage is headed for an ugly divorce.
Unfortunately, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, finding a suitable trade partner for Durant has not been easy. On ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ this morning, Windhorst explained that there’s just a lack of urgency on the market right now.
“Ten days ago, Kevin Durant and Joe Tsai met in London. Durant really tried to apply the pressure by asking for Steve Nash and Sean Marks to get fired. And guess what has happened? Nothing. Nothing has happened. The dynamic around Kevin Durant hasn’t changed at all. There hasn’t been an urgency in trade talks. There hasn’t been a change in strategy by the Brooklyn Nets. I think what we have here is really a study of leverage. First off, the Nets do not have leverage in trade talks with other teams. They are not giving them the offers that they want. They see no reason to increase them. And so they’re not making any progress there. And Kevin Durant clearly does not have leverage with the Brooklyn Nets. He is asking for things: ‘Get me traded. Fire the coach. Fire the GM.’ He is being told no. So when you have denied leverage, you have a stalemate.”
At a glance, it seems like the Nets are just denying to honor the requests of Durant. They are refusing all of his asks and proceeding as he has no say at all in the direction of his future.
But with Durant locked into a lengthy contract, the Nets have power over him and are making it clear that they will not be pushed around by him and Kyrie Irving.
Unfortunately, the Nets aren’t having much luck on the trade front, which means this saga could extend for weeks or months into the season.
