Paradise wrote:bwgood77 wrote:Paradise wrote:Because deep down, KD didn’t want to leave Brooklyn. He will be far more invested next season I’m sure but he’s made it known, it wasn’t planned for him to get traded on his end and he wanted to stay.
Is this a joke or if serious, why did he ask for a trade then?
No joke. Listen to his podcast early this week.
Kevin Durant’s last two NBA stops — Golden State and Oklahoma City — ended in ugly breakups and highly publicized exits. The Nets, he said, will be different.
When Durant picked Brooklyn last offseason, he signed a four-year, $164 million contract that has an opt-out after the third season. That could let him go back onto the free-agent market in 2022-23. Considering he missed this season following Achilles surgery, that could cut the Nets’ window of contention to just two years.
But Durant went on The Player Tribune’s “Text Message Talk Show” on Thursday, and said he plans to make Brooklyn the final stop of his surefire Hall of Fame career.
“As of today, this second, yes…” Durant texted on the show.
It was because of the Kyrie situation and the fact, Ben Simmons is unreliable. He openly admitted he’s glad the Nets got assets in return. He’s said multiple times prior he wanted to retire here. His “emotions” during the Phoenix about Brooklyn was real. He picked #7 because it’s a number of completion. He knows he is getting older and it’s championship or bust.
The Nets wanted to rebuild around him as a solo star and he didn’t want that and he wasn’t waiting until the summer to add another star. The Nets and KD had this conversation before during the summer. Our FO messed it up not dealing with Kyrie correct.
Me personally I don't have any harsh feeling for Durant. I always thought he was professional. He played when he had to, the only drama he caused was in the offseason.
I don't think the FO messed the Irving situation up though. It's unfortunate, that KD's best friend happens to be Irving. But after 4 years I thought it was clear, that we would not win with Irving as the co-star. He is GREAT when he is focused on the floor, but there is more to it to win a championship. The KD/KI combo, combined with our roster would not have done the trick. Maybe if we updgraded in the offseason, but who knows. Many years of drama had to stop for this franchise and I agree. Nothing would have changed if he got the extension he wanted. It's just unfortunate, because switching Irving for players like Middleton/siakam/booker might just have done the trick long term.
