Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant reiterated his trade request to owner Joe Tsai and gave an ultimatum of sorts, telling Tsai he needs to fire general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash if he wants any chance of keeping him around. Tsai soon took to Twitter to back his GM and coach, sending a message to Durant in the process.
While there's still some time before training camp opens, no Durant trade is imminent and the Nets continue to ask for the world. If nobody meets their high asking price, they could dare Durant to show up for training camp and start the season in Brooklyn. Many believe that KD's love for the game would be too great for him to actually stage a holdout and ultimately miss games if there's no deal. After all, he still has four years left on his Nets contract
However, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News says not so fast: âA source, however, pushed back on the idea that Durant will show up to training camp in September if his request goes unfulfilled.â
This is just the latest leverage salvo as Kevin Durant and the Nets stare each other down. Durant is trying to force Brooklyn into a trade, while the franchise is doing all it can to stay strong and either keep him or get the best deal possible. The Nets want to take all the top assets from any team that tries to trade for KD.
Again, there's still a long time before training camp opens, so a lot could change between now and the end of September. But KD's camp is putting it out there right now that he might be willing to hold out if he doesn't get his wish. Stay tuned for the next twist in this saga.