Kevin Durant's trade saga with the Brooklyn Nets has finally come to an end. It may not have been the conclusion most of us expected, but in the end, it seems that it's the Nets that have prevailed now that they're going to be running it back with the same Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving-led core this coming season.
NBA analyst Nick Wright of Fox Sports 1 has chimed in on the situation now that it's over. The renowned broadcaster admitted that he thought KD had the Nets in the palm of his hands after he made his shocking demands (h/t Charles Eluemuno of sportskeeda):
“Kevin Durant handled this incredibly oddly,” Wright said. “He did not go public with his trade request but nobody was disputing that it happened. He then met with Joe Tsai and Sean Marks and demanded the coach and the GM be fired. Which, I thought was the checkmate move.”
In the end, however, the Nets stood firm. According to Wright, team owner Joe Tsai proved that he was not going to be bullied under any circumstance. Not even by a superstar of the magnitude of Kevin Durant:
“I think KD and myself underestimated the mettle of Joe Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets,” Wright continued. “I thought Joe Tsai was gonna say, ‘I just don't want this embarrassment, this distraction.'
“What it would appear Joe Tsai's motivations were, ‘I am not going to be told what to do by anyone. I am one of the richest people in the history of the world. I am incredibly powerful I am incredibly successful, Kevin Durant is not dictating terms to me.'”
$8.5 billion. That is how much Joe Tsai is worth right now, and you can be sure that he did not get to where he is today without being one of the most intelligent individuals on the entire planet. KD thought he had it in the bag, but as Wright said, he may have misjudged Tsai's resolve.
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