Kevin Durant's Former Teammate Mike James Says KD Knew The Nets Were Going To Flop In 2022 Playoffs: "He Called Me Befor

[sonnyhill]

WTF happened to this Nets team?

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/kevin-durants-former-teammate-mike-james-says-kd-knew-the-nets-were-going-to-flop-in-2022-playoffs-he-called-me-before-the-playoffs-start-and-hes-like-we-fitting-to-lose

Kevin Durant's Former Teammate Mike James Says KD Knew The Nets Were Going To Flop In 2022 Playoffs: "He Called Me Before The Playoffs Start And He's Like 'We Fitting To Lose.'"
NICO MARTINEZ3 HOURS AGO

When Kevin Durant sent in his trade request this summer, it came as a shock for many within the NBA community. After just three seasons with the Nets (only two of which were active), Durant seemingly quit before he even really had a chance to succeed.

But now, there is new evidence that suggests something more was happening than has been reported.

According to former Nets guard Mike James, (who played from 2017-2021) Durant called him before the playoffs started to admit that his team was probably going to get bounced.

"[Kevin Durant] called me before the playoffs start, he's like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna be there [at your playoff game] in like a couple weeks. We fitting to lose.'"

Read on Twitter

Needless to say, Durant must have sensed some serious issues with his team if he knew that they were going to lose. It was only a year ago, after all, that they fought tooth-and-nail with the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semis.

Durant ended up being spot on with his prediction, as Brooklyn would go on to lose in the very first round against the young and gritty Boston Celtics. He asked for a trade weeks later.

The problem now is that all of the drama is impacting Brooklyn's pursuit of free agents, and their ability to build up the roster has become seriously compromised.

“All of the drama has absolutely impacted the way free agents look at signing with the Nets," as The Athletic's Alex Schiffer explained in a Q&A. "How can it not? Would you go work for a company that has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately? Would you have taken a job at Enron after the scandal came out years ago and the stock was worth pennies? I don’t think other front offices have minded the drama in Brooklyn. It just makes their sales pitch easier to free agents also considering the Nets.”

It remains to be seen how all of this will play out. In truth, it's hard to believe how much of a mess this situation has become in just a few years.

But whatever happens, Durant isn't built to sit out like Ben Simmons. No matter what team he's on, he's going to hoop to the best of his ability. Clearly, he has lost faith in Brooklyn's capabilities, but it doesn't mean he has lost faith in his own.

[vincecarter4pres]

**** this baby **** toilet tissue soft ass bitchmade mother **** er.

[gigantes]

I guess in KD's defense, he's still just a lad, growing up as he can.
He says right things and he says wrong things. That's okay, in theory.

Same time, he's making super-truckloads of money, and it's always us fans paying for it, like ALWAYS.

[MrDollarBills]

I guess in KD's defense, he's still just a lad, growing up as he can.
He says right things and he says wrong things. That's okay, in theory.

Same time, he's making super-truckloads of money, and it's always us fans paying for it, like ALWAYS.

He's 34 years old.

Also, do we seriously need two threads about this coward?

[gigantes]

I guess in KD's defense, he's still just a lad, growing up as he can.
He says right things and he says wrong things. That's okay, in theory.

Same time, he's making super-truckloads of money, and it's always us fans paying for it, like ALWAYS.

He's 34 years old.

Could have fooled me.

That said, I'll give him credit for at least engaging with fans, slogging through some arguments. At least he's putting himself in the position to potentially learn and grow, even if slowly.

Kyrie by comparison seems firmly dedicated to living on Planet Wackadoodle for the rest of his life.

[MrDollarBills]

I'll give him credit for at least engaging with fans

Like this?

Watch on YouTube

[gigantes]

I'll give him credit for at least engaging with fans

Like this?

fwu74TSiyYg

I actually liked that one.

Side note: I still can't believe his lower legs are that skinny, yet he doesn't get injured more. I think he signed up for the same protective coating Keon Clark did, who played around 15-20yrs ago.

[MrDollarBills]

I'll give him credit for at least engaging with fans

Like this?

fwu74TSiyYg

I actually liked that one.

Side note: I still can't believe his lower legs are that skinny, yet he doesn't get injured more. I think he signed up for the same protective coating Keon Clark did, who played around 15-20yrs ago.

I thought it was funny too, but in hindsight it's a massive red flag when your so called franchise player is telling your home fans to STFU for cheering him on.

Could you see LeBron, Giannis or Steph ever doing this? I can't

[gigantes]

Like this?

fwu74TSiyYg

I actually liked that one.

Side note: I still can't believe his lower legs are that skinny, yet he doesn't get injured more. I think he signed up for the same protective coating Keon Clark did, who played around 15-20yrs ago.

I thought it was funny too, but in hindsight it's a massive red flag when your so called franchise player is telling your home fans to STFU for cheering him on.

Could you see LeBron, Giannis or Steph ever doing this? I can't

True... true, and maybe this stuff kinda adds to the idea that dude just never seems to be happy with what he's doing or where he is.

Three contending/championship teams he's now bailed on. Each time it seems like he's not satisfied and wants something better. Constantly fighting with fans; mostly on twitter, but sometimes like above.

At the same time, the way he recently talked about being 'insecure in his skills, therefore he practices every single day' (remember that quote?) seems like a double-edged sword to me. Like, it's conceivable that helped make him such a great player, but maybe it's also sort of an 'internal fire of insecurity' that limits how happy he can be, whatever he's doing and wherever he is.

Also, *gulp* it's really not my place to say, but... still, I can't help thinking some things, no disrespect intended of any kind. It's this:

I'm thinking that when KD hooked up with Kyrie as friends, he perhaps found something he was looking for. Maybe it was a certain perspective that helped address his disconnect with fans, for example. I mean, as much as I rag on the both of them, Kyrie honestly does seem like the happier person, rather peaceful in nature, who gets along with others.

So... could it be that Durant really envies that at some level, and wants to be more like Kyrie in that sense? Who knows! But at least it might explain why Durant was so deferential to Kyrie's ridiculous mandate holdout, and why he might be all in his feelings about the Nets not automatically rewarding Kyrie a max contract.

The idea is (pretty obvious, right?) that KD sees KI in a vastly different light than... pretty much everyone else.


Now from a different POV, I'm not saying these things (and the related warning signs) were completely obvious when Marks signed the pair. Honestly, that's probably asking a *lot* from just a sports GM. Still, there were already plenty of odds signs about both of them that -FOUR- different teams and fanbases had things to say about, you know?

Meanwhile, ND's 'behind-the-scenes' article at the time talked about (not sure anyone here remembers this) how utterly stoked Marks was about the potential signing, yet was evidently 'wise / professional-enough to run it past his staff, first.' But then, according to the article, Marks went ahead and pitched it like: 'so guys, we have a decision to make here... do you think it would be a good idea to sign KEVIN DURANT AND KYRIE IRVING?! '

Lol... what a totally no-win position to be in as an underling.

Anyway, I assume the article's still over there, somewhere. The timeframe should be pretty easy, I would think. Time to look it up, maybe..?

[mihaic]

imo the nets management also screwed up, they should have identified it earlier and trade KD right away like Jazz did to Gobert. Why would you wait a month to let him tell you he still wants out ? Beats me. They should have forced the issue with KD. Now they have to settle for less as most teams made their moves