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Kevin Durant's adjustment to a new franchise can't be understated. While he chose to trade a potential run at more championships for a chance to build something new with the Brooklyn Nets, adjusting to the culture will take some compromise.
Not only will Durant have to listen, but also be willing to change some of his ways to lend to the Nets' analytics department, along with the development team the front office put in place — one that has gotten glowing results in recent years.
Article Continues Below“It's going to have to be a give and take,” Durant told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan. “At this point of our careers, we have routines. At the same time, I want to learn what they're about. We have to be willing to meet halfway.”
Head coach Kenny Atkinson is aware of the culture set in place since he was first hired in 2016, but knows it will work differently with different players that have gone through different career arcs.
“Our whole setup can be a bit rigid,” said Atkinson. “We're like a college program, in some ways. We have this car wash of very specific things with very specific people.
“But I can already see it morphing into something it was not before. When Joe Harris was trying to make it in the league, he was saying, ‘I'll do whatever you want.' Now we're dealing with veterans who are saying, ‘OK, this is how you do it. But this is how I've always done it, and this has worked for me.'
“The challenge is, can we meld the two? No one gave us an award for mastering the culture code. We're still learning.”
Durant is a master of his craft, but he also was enticed by what the Nets were building out East. If he's willing to soak in knowledge and bend a little bit to help put his team in the best position to win, it could finally be a match made in heaven for the former MVP.
