Google News NBA insider: Kevin Durant ultimatum has only hurt his trade value
by | VIEW 321
ESPN's NBA insider Brian Windhorst says Kevin Durant's ultimatum to Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai has only "hurt" his trade value. On June 30, Durant requested a trade from the Nets. Last week, Durant met with Nets owner Tsai to discuss his trade request.
Reportedly, Durant expressed his displeasure with head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks. During the meeting, Durant suggested he could still change his mind if the team meets his demands. “Doing it now is a maneuver, a maneuver that I don’t think worked because as I talk to teams out there, they don’t think this increased his trade demand.
They think this hurt his trade value,” Windhorst said on NBA Today.
Windhorst on Tsai's tweet after the Durant report
"Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets," Tsai tweeted last week after it was reported that Durant told them to choose between him and front office.
Reflecting on Tsai's tweet, Windhorst said Tsai was basically saying he was not going to fire Nash and Marks just because Durant said so. Also, Windhorst thought that Marks was telling the rest of the NBA that the Nets were not going to lower their trade demands for Durant.
“I want to point to the second half of the Joe Tsai tweet. I think it’s obviously important to look at the first sentence which is that he’s not going to fire Sean Marks and Steve Nash. But the second sentence is really the sentence that the league paid attention to it.
And it seems benign when he says ‘We make decisions for the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.’ But I’m going to decode that for you. What he’s basically saying is despite what Kevin Durant is trying do here, we’re not going to change what our expectations are for a trade and if you are not traded, we expect you to be reporting to camp to continue the four years you have left on your contract”.
With the roster they have, the Nets are still considered as one of the best teams in the NBA. If Durant is on the team on the opening day, the Nets will likely have Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons in their starting lineup. It remains to be seen if Durant indeed gets traded this offseason.