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Kevin Durant admits he wanted to see a change in culture and attitude after rescinding his trade request and deciding to return to the Brooklyn Nets. On June 30th, Durant requested a trade from the Nets. On August 23rd, Durant decided to rescind his request and return to the Nets.
But when Durant initially requested a trade, some were wondering what really prompted the former NBA MVP to ask for a trade. In an interview with ESPN's Nick Friedell, Durant reveals that he wanted to see changes - himself included.
The Nets currently own a 25-13 record and are the third-best team in the Eastern Conference standings.
Durant reflects on his trade request
"I don't even look at s--- that way. My whole thing was like -- are we, does the process matter to us? And that's one thing I did know that people here enjoy, grinding.
So that was the most important thing for me. Titles and stuff come with the process in which you -- how you prepare. It was more so, 'All right, are we going to practice harder? Are we going to pay more attention to detail?' Not just everybody else, all of us, me included.
Is that going to be preached to us every day? I had the faith that that would happen because I voiced that throughout the summer as well. Even behind the scenes, like, 'Yo, this is what I like to do. This is how I like to practice.'
I've been saying that for the last couple years, so I figured at that point with me going through that, they understood what I value. That's what I was hanging my hat on, the preparation side of it," Durant told ESPN's Friedell.
Meanwhile, the Nets have been playing great lately. On Wednesday night, the Nets suffered a 121-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls. But before losing to the Bulls, the Nets won 12 straight games. On Friday night, the Nets are playing the New Orleans Pelicans on the road as they will be looking to start another winning streak.