(Basketball news) Kevin Durant's future with the Brooklyn Nets was a big uncertainty for the upcoming NBA season. However, the Nets management has confirmed that he is moving nowhere. As far as Kevin Durant is concerned, he was the top performer for the Brooklyn Nets, as he played a pivotal role in leading his side into the NBA 2022 Playoffs. However, after the season's conclusion, his future with the franchise was uncertain, as he put in a trade request. Nevertheless, it has all been laid to rest as Nets general manager Sean Marks has clarified that Durant will be going nowhere and will continue with the franchise for the upcoming season. He joined the Nets in 2019 from the Golden State Warriors and has since then averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists.
It’s unknown exactly why Durant wanted to seek a trade which came at the end of a turbulent year in Brooklyn. The Nets were championship favorite before last season began but last season Nets barely made the playoffs and then trounced by Boston in four games in the first round. The Nets also refused to give a contract extension to Kyrie Irving who is Durant’s close friend, forcing him to pick up his player option for next season. With Kevin Durant in the side the Nets can still be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Nets were bidding for the top spot in the East conference before he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for 21 games. With Durant, Irving and Ben Simmons, who is expected to return after not playing for the Nets last season following his trade from Philadelphia, the Nets will again have the best trio in the NBA.
Brooklyn also went onto re-sign center Nic Claxton, forward Kessler Edwards and point guard Patty Mills and have further added free agents T.J. Warren, Edmond Sumner as they have gone onto add 3-and-D swingman Royce O’Neale in a trade with the Utah Jazz. The Nets had a season record of 44-38 last season but were humiliated by the Celtics as it may have prompted Durant’s decision to put in a trade request. Durant signed a contract extension with the franchise last off-season, while his current contract runs through 2025-26. Now the Nets are focused on getting their 2022-23 NBA season started on October 19 with a home match against the New Orleans Pelicans.
In a media availability session with the NBA last month, Commissioner Adam Silver said he has never been a fan of trade demands going public. “This needs to be a two-way street,” Silver said. “Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players and the expectation is, in return, they will meet their end of the bargain. I’m realistic that there’s always conversations that are going to go on behind closed doors between players and their representatives and the teams. But we don’t like to see players requesting trades, and we don’t like to see it playing out the way it is.”
"Steve Nash and I met with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday. We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn," Marks told reporters.
Also read: Kevin Durant requested a trade out of the Brooklyn Nets
