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Kevin Durant's trade request dominated the NBA offseason. Fast forward four months and Durant has led the red-hot Brooklyn Nets to the league's second-best record.
After a dysfunctional 2-6 start to the season that saw Steve Nash fired and Kyrie Irving suspended, Brooklyn was left for dead. Since then, the Nets have posted a 23-7 record with Durant, Irving and a high-level supporting cast firing on all cylinders. While there is plenty of basketball to be played, Brooklyn represents the rare case of a team coming out the other side of a superstar trade request better than before.
In an exclusive interview with ESPN's Nick Friedell, Durant was asked about the past implosions of the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets following trade requests from Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis and James Harden, respectively. And the fourth-year Net was quick to point out the difference between those trade demands and his.
“You got to realize with their situations, when did that happen for them? During the middle of the season,” Durant said.
Despite a 2021-22 season derailed by vaccine mandates, injuries and internal dysfunction, Durant played out the year and waited until the summer to request a trade. And the former MVP has continually emphasized that fact when asked about the impact his decision had on the team.
“[Jimmy got traded] during the middle of the season, when he was in Minnesota,” Durant said. “James, the same way. AD, the same way. This was a summertime thing. We wasn't playing no games. I didn't interfere with what we were doing on the court every day. It wasn't a question of what you were asking my teammates every day after a game or a practice.
“What I did didn't get in the way of the games that was being played, so I felt like that's the difference in everything. So we hashed that all up right before camp, and it was cool, it didn't get in the way of the hoops. So that's the difference between what happened with those guys and [me].”
The situation that most resembles Durant's is Kobe Bryant's trade request from the Los Angeles Lakers in May 2007. Bryant was unhappy with Los Angeles' apparent intention to rebuild and reportedly had his sights set on the Chicago Bulls. After a conversation with Phil Jackson, the Hall-of-Famer reconsidered and walked back his request.
“When Phil and I spoke, he was optimistic and determined that we'll both be back,” Bryant told Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio. “Phil is somebody I listen to. I lean on him a lot. He assured me things are going to be OK. Things are going to be all right. Don't go full bore just yet. Take a deep breath and let us work these things out and everything will be all right. Which was very encouraging.”
The Lakers would go on to trade for Pau Gasol at the 2008 trade deadline and win the Western Conference title before losing to the Boston Celtics in the finals. Los Angeles would win back-to-back championships the following two years.
Similar to Bryant, Durant had conversations with Nets management over the summer surrounding Brooklyn's basketball process, after which the 12-time All-Star rescinded his trade request.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 23, 2022
When asked why he had confidence the Nets could still win a title this season, Kevin Durant said he was more focused on Brooklyn's day-to-day approach throughout an 82-game season.
“I don't even look at s— that way,” Durant said. “My whole thing was like — 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 of 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,” he continued. “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.”
After putting the early-season distractions behind them, Durant's preseason push appears to have made the impact he desired. The Nets have won 19 of their last 23 games and rank fifth in net rating for the season.
Kevin Durant has firmly cemented himself in the MVP conversation, averaging 29.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists while missing only one game. The 34-year-old is shooting a career-high 56.8 percent from the field, the league’s best mark among 36 players attempting 16.5 or more shots per game.
Brooklyn's recent hot streak has many labeling the Nets as title contenders, a remarkable development following a tumultuous summer and start to the season.
