The recent actions by Kevin Durant to try and force his way out of the Brooklyn Nets have backfired on him quite significantly. After presumably realizing he was in a situation where whichever team traded for him would be significantly deprived of assets to contend on the court, KD agreed to stay on and continue his partnership with Sean Marks, Kyrie Irving, Steve Nash, and Joe Tsai.
However, the fact that KD held up the offseason market by making the team hold out on signing players to ensure they can accommodate a Durant trade hasn’t gone over well. Patrick Beverley called Durant out on the same day it was announced that KD would be returning to Brooklyn.
Former NBA Coach of the Year George Karl is also a little disappointed in the way KD handled this situation. Karl noted that NBA owners would not be happy about players on big contracts trying to make power moves like this.
Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets decided to “move forward with their partnership”.
2022 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee @GeorgeKarl22 shares his thoughts with @TermineRadio & @JumpShot8. pic.twitter.com/0t0inEu7yT
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 24, 2022
“I don’t know where the league is going right now with players in the first year of their 5-year contracts wanting out after a year. That’s not gonna make any ownership group happy. These guys are getting paid big money. I know there is a game of power that goes on with the great players, and Kevin Durant is a great player. But I wish he would’ve handled this better.”
If KD did this as a power move to get the Nets to do a better job of keeping him content with the team, its fruit would bear over the future. For now, KD has been criticized for going back to a team after demanding the coach and GM be fired.
At the end of the day, the Nets look absolutely stacked for a possible championship run right now. They will be among the favorites in the East if health is in their favor.
