As a basketball purist and a true hooper at heart, we all know that Kevin Durant genuinely enjoys stepping onto the basketball court.
For many fans, experts, and executives around the league, that love of the game is why they never saw him missing games or missing out on team-related activities.
But now, with how things have progressed between him and the Nets, even Brian Windhorst is convinced that KD could opt to go the Ben Simmons route to force himself off the team.
“A week ago, if you had asked me, ‘will Kevin Durant hold out of training camp if he’s not traded?’ I would have been like, ‘I can’t see it.’ Now I can see it. That is what we’re headed towards,” Windhorst said.
"A week ago, if you had asked me, 'will Kevin Durant hold out of training camp if he's not traded?' I would have been like, 'I can't see it.' Now I can see it. That is what we're headed towards."
— @WindhorstESPNpic.twitter.com/Zhjx1LfO2X
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 13, 2022
Ultimately, only Kevin Durant can decide what lengths how far he’s willing to go. While he did leave the Thunder and Warriors, he has never put a team in a situation where they are forced to trade him, and there have never been talks before about him skipping out on games when healthy.
Just earlier this month, one NBA executive was even convinced Durant would play next season whether he was traded or not.
“I don’t see KD being a hard line guy, either. If they can’t get a deal done, he’s just going to say, ‘[Expletive] it,’ and he’ll play — and he’ll play hard like he always does. I know KD, and he’s not going to sit out or anything like that. He’s not that kind of guy. There’s no way. He’s not going to do anything like that (Sean Bulpett of Heavy).
Clearly, those feelings are starting t change for most of the community. The feeling is that Durant is preparing to cut all ties with the Nets, which means this could get really ugly.
But with multiple years left on his deal, it won’t be easy for Durant to get what he wants in this situation, even if he resorts to drastic means.
