Kevin Durant's tumultuous relationship with the Brooklyn Nets came to a head following Kyrie Irving's trade request at the deadline. The former MVP requested a trade for the second time in six months and landed with the Phoenix Suns, his long-desired destination.

Despite the decision to bolt from Brooklyn, Durant told the Athletic's Shams Charania his desire to leave was not a negative reflection of the Nets organization:

“I want the best for that organization. I wanted the best for us every game. I hated it had to go down like that,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to prove the Nets is a s—ty organization. I was trying to prove that the Nets are a great organization, that they care about their players, want the best for their players. Certain s— just didn’t work out. I understand that.”

“I’m not here trying to prove that the Nets was wrong, I think they did amazing by me the whole time I was there, not just with the trade. Coming off the Achilles injury, get back into playing — they made sure they were there for me every step of the way. And I appreciate that for life. I feel like we’ll be tied as family members for life regardless of how it finished.”

Brooklyn was under no obligation to trade Kevin Durant after they dealt Irving to the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the deadline. They could have played the year out and waited until the offseason. However, they acquiesced to Durant's request, a move largely viewed as a way to generate this type of positive review from one of the league's top superstars.

The NBA is a league of player empowerment more than ever before. A soured relationship with an all-time great like Durant surely wouldn't bode well for Brooklyn's chance at landing stars moving forward.

Kevin Durant told Charania his trade request was a result of uncertainty regarding the future of the franchise after Irving's surprise move:

“Once he asked out, I was just trying to figure out what direction the team is going in,” he said. “Once I had no understanding of what direction we’re going in, I tried to make the best decision for me.”

The 13-time All-Star has been vocal that he was caught off-guard by Irving's trade request, as was the rest of the Nets organization. Despite his bombshell decision to ask out of Brooklyn during a promising season, Irving said Wednesday that he “didn't get a chance” to finish the year with the Nets:

“I wanted to finish out with Brooklyn, finish out with that season we had going and I didn’t get a chance to do that,” he said.

Durant will now make an all-in push for his long-awaited third championship alongside Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton in Phoenix. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have posted an 8-14 record since trading for Irving, dropping them out of the West play-in picture to 12th place.