Kevin Durant seems ready to walk out the door of the Barclays Center before the start of the 2022-23 season, especially after his recent request to get Joe Tsai to fire Steve Nash and Sean Marks. Tsai has already announced he will stick by his coach and GM, so Durant may be out of luck on that front.
Durant’s feelings against Nash are what many people have attributed to the issues the Nets have had, as Nash doesn’t command the respect of either KD or Kyrie Irving. According to a new report from the New York Post, it seems the problems in Brooklyn started earlier.
Tsai did not lobby then-Mayor Bill de Blasio to allow unvaccinated players living outside New York City to play home games when there was word his vaccination policy would change to include them.
On Feb. 8, Tsai, with the Nets mired in a losing streak, hired a lobbyist to persuade new Mayor Eric Adams to change the mandate so unvaccinated Kyrie Irving could play home games. Adams, while other vaccine mandates were relaxed, did not relent until March 24, taking longer than many expected.
That might have led to some disappointment that Tsai did not do more, the source said. (h/t NY Post)
Outside Tsai’s late action in getting a lobbyist to get New York to reverse the mandate, KD’s frustrations with Sean Marks come from the way the GM has orchestrated trades for the Nets, weakening their roster over the seasons, along with the decision to hire Steve Nash as head coach.
Durant, in a meeting this weekend with Tsai, said, as he did last month, he wanted to be traded unless Nash was fired, The Post confirmed. There are also reports he wants general manager Sean Marks fired as well.
Marks was the main force behind hiring Nash, sources said. Durant believes “he traded away too many pieces,” the source said. (h/t NY Post)
It seems many issues have compounded over time and made the situation untenable for Durant. The Nets also recently fired Adam Harrington, an assistant coach who had a good relationship with Durant.
Sean Marks made a lot of the trades he did to ensure Kevin Durant and Kyrie weren’t upset with the team’s dealings. They gave up most of their depth for James Harden and still managed to get additional pieces like Andre Drummond and Seth Curry, along with Ben Simmons, when Harden left. Hopefully, the Nets can come to a solution to their situation sooner rather than later.
