Kevin Durant needs out of Brooklyn, or no less than he needs a recent begin.
That was the message he reportedly delivered to Nets proprietor Joe Tsai in a weekend assembly in London, in accordance to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Durant has amended his late-June commerce request to incorporate the likelihood that he’d take into account staying with the Nets if common supervisor Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash are fired, Charania reported Monday.
If you happen to’ll recall, Durant and Kyrie Irving had been reported to be robust voices within the Nets’ ouster of former head coach Kenny Atkinson halfway via their first 12 months in Brooklyn, at the same time as they performed a mixed 20 video games that season whereas Durant recovered from a torn Achilles.
Nash, a former star teammate of Marks in Phoenix, gave the impression to be a rent endorsed by Durant, given their relationship that extends again to the tip of Nash’s taking part in profession. That was earlier than Nash, as a Warriors particular adviser, helped Durant come to the choice to depart Oklahoma Metropolis for Golden State in 2016. (Tim Kawakami delved deep into that cellphone name and the connection for this publication.)
However issues in Brooklyn haven't gone in accordance with plan, from Irving’s irregular availability (for one motive or one other) to the failed commerce for James Harden. The deal gutted the group’s depth and Harden then compounded issues by making a commerce request (which the Nets granted).
It’s onerous to search out an applicable commerce associate in a Durant deal, as a result of any group will need to have sufficient:
1. Property to compensate Brooklyn for one of many biggest scorers of all time, on a four-year contract;
2. Core gamers left after a commerce to fulfill Durant’s need to compete for a title;
3. Religion that Durant will report back to the group and received’t ask out if there's a tough stretch.
Studying the tea leaves, Durant’s concession that he’d keep if the Marks-Nash duo had been gone could point out simply how powerful it’s been for the Nets to search out an agreeable deal. That search turned tougher after the Suns (reportedly Durant’s most popular vacation spot) misplaced the flexibility to sign-and-trade Deandre Ayton when Ayton signed a suggestion sheet with the Pacers.
Or maybe it might be an indication that Durant doesn’t suppose the present regime is working onerous sufficient to discover a associate to get him out of city, and a brand new common supervisor could be extra more likely to get the job accomplished.
Regardless of the case, Durant has gone from trusting Nash within the greatest determination of his profession to requesting Nash (and Marks) be fired. It’s clear one thing has soured within the relationship because the days after they would work out after Warriors follow periods.