Playing down Durant request as Nets eye reboot
NEW YORK: Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash played down Kevin Durant’s trade request on Monday, insisting the superstar was “on the same page” as the team prepares for the new season.
Durant shocked basketball in June after requesting a trade, less than a year after he signed a four-year US$198 million contract extension to remain in Brooklyn.
Durant is reported to have given Nets owner Joe Tsai an ultimatum, to either grant his request for a trade or fire Nash and Nets manager Sean Marks.
The standoff appeared to have been resolved last month when the Nets said in a statement that Durant would remain with the club following clear the air talks.
Speaking at the Nets media day on Monday, Nash said Durant’s trade request was partand-parcel of life in the NBA.
“Families go through things like this,” Nash told reporters. “You go through adversity, you go through disagreements.
This is not new to the NBA. It has happened dozens of times; I’m sure every organisation has faced that.
“So, you know, it’s a part of the process. It’s a part of working in this business. It’s super competitive.
“We’re all prideful. We all have expectations, and when we get dinged up like we did last year, you know, everyone’s disappointed. We cleared the air and we spoke and we got on the same page.”
Brooklyn had hoped to challenge for an NBA Championship last season, building their roster around the talents of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
However the Nets big three failed to deliver, and Harden was traded away to the Philadelphia 76ers in February.
The Nets were later swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.