Nets' Kevin Durant Trade Philosophy Revealed

Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets are on their way to a divorce. Unfortunately for Durant, the Nets are taking their time when it comes to trading him. KD is one of the best players in the history of the league, which means he will yield a very large return for the Nets. Brooklyn knows this trade can ruin their future if they don’t get it right, and as a result, they are taking their time and are being quite stingy when it comes to the offers they’ve received. 

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Brooklyn Nets are taking their sweet time with this deal, and they don’t have a lot of motivation to get it done right now. This news comes amid reports that Durant would actually hold out from training camp if a deal isn’t done. It’s clearly a messy situation for the Nets, but they are trying to take back control of their franchise, by any means necessary.

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Per Windhorst:

“Ten days ago, Kevin Durant and Joe Tsai met in London. Durant really tried to apply the pressure by asking for Steve Nash and Sean Marks to get fired. And guess what has happened? Nothing. Nothing has happened. The dynamic around Kevin Durant hasn’t changed at all. There hasn’t been an urgency in trade talks. There hasn’t been a change in strategy by the Brooklyn Nets.

“I think what we have here is really a study of leverage. First off, the Nets do not have leverage in trade talks with other teams. They are not giving them the offers that they want. They see no reason to increase them. And so they’re not making any progress there. And Kevin Durant clearly does not have leverage with the Brooklyn Nets. He is asking for things: ‘Get me traded. Fire the coach. Fire the GM.’ He is being told no. So when you have denied leverage, you have a stalemate.”