NBA champion Kevin Durant demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets earlier this summer. Durant had reportedly been rebuffed by Nets owner Joe Tsai after the superstar demanded the firing of head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks.
The trade never came to fruition, and the Nets announced in August that they would “be moving forward” with Durant, who is signed through the 2025-2026 season.
Durant (seen above in a Nov. 2021 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder) spoke with reporters on Monday at Nets Media Day ahead of the 2022-2023 season, and he revealed why he demanded the trade in the first place.
“I wanted everybody to be held accountable for their habits as a basketball player,” Durant told reporters, according to The New York Post. “I think a lot of stuff was getting swept under the rug because we’re injured or this guy’s not around or just the circumstances. I thought we could have fought through that a little bit more and focused on the guys that were here a little bit more.”
Durant also expanded on the time he missed due to injury.
“When I went out with the injury, we lost 10 in a row,” said Durant. “And I’m like, ‘We shouldn’t be losing some of these games that we lost, regardless of who’s on the floor.’ So I was more so worried about how we’re approaching every day as a basketball team. And I felt like we could have fought through a lot of the stuff that I felt that held us back.”
Both Nash and Marks are still with the Nets, but Durant said he’s “committed to moving forward with the team.”
The Brooklyn Nets tip off preseason play next Monday at home against the Philadelphia 76ers.
[The New York Post; photo from The Oklahoman, via USA Today Sports]
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