This is probably the 3rd time he’s been asked and has confirmed he intends on retiring in Brooklyn.
”To be honest, I signed here for five years to play. You know what I’m saying? Looking at, obviously this year’s important, but no matter what happens this year, I still want to do it again. And again. I want to continue to play, have this group together as long as we can.”
“So short term, we can focus on [this year’s chances] for sure, but we’re also looking at the big picture of things, too. Seeing how we can build something sustainable for more than just a year or two or three. I know I’m getting old, but I feel like I’m mentally and physically in a solid space to contribute to an organization that’s ready to grow and reach new heights.
“I’m not guaranteeing that we got a championship. But I just like what we’re building,” the 33-year-old said. “And I’m not going to say this is the only year we’ve got an opportunity to fight and work towards something. I don’t think next year we’ve got to start all the way over and try to figure out what’s the next iteration of the Nets.”
“I feel like we can just build on what we have and see what happens. We got guys that are committed and want to be here.”
On the Kyrie mandate situation:
[b] “He’s frustrated in not being able to play,” Durant said. “He figured this stuff would be rolled back by now, we’d be way past this. But it’s the situation we’re in, we got to deal with it, he’s got to deal with it.”
“I mean, what is it, April almost?” Durant said. “It’s pretty obvious that he’s not going to take the shot. So like I said, just focus on who you are and what you bring to the team every day and once that situation gets figured out, then it will. It’s out of my control, it’s out of everybody else’s control. So you can’t force anybody to do anything. So just try to just focus on me.”
“We love Kyrie as a human being,” Durant said. “I don’t think we were ever upset at him as much as people on the outside were. We get that it may affect the outcome of some basketball games, but that’s not the only reason why we love Kyrie as a person because what he can bring to the court. I think overall him as a human being, we respect who he is, we respect the game on top of that.
“He made the decision for himself, so you just got to respect it and move forward. We wasn’t coming in here every day pissed off at him because he wasn’t around. We’re just trying to focus on us individually and who was in this building as a collective and let that stuff work itself out. When he was able to come back in here, it felt like nothing changed.”
KD on Ben:
“He’s doing good,” Durant said of Simmons. “He looks good as far as just walking around and being around the team. Haven’t seen him do anything on the basketball court as much, but a couple walk-through things. But I think his spirits are in the right place and he’s excited to be a part of the group and looking forward to having him out on the floor. I definitely don’t want him to rush back for us and his back is not right, so take all the time he needs to get his body right and once he’s out there we’re ready to rock and roll.”
https://nypost.com/2022/03/21/kevin-durant-sees-big-title-window-if-nets-fail-this-season/
