One major question hangs over everything in the aftermath of Kevin Durant‘s trade request: Why, exactly, does Durant want to leave the Brooklyn Nets? Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN went onto Get Up! on Friday morning and gave a little bit of insight, and unsurprisingly, it’s a bit complex.
According to Wojnarowski, a few things went into this. There’s the “acrimonious” contract talks that Kyrie Irving had with the franchise about an extension and, eventually, a sign-and-trade that did not go anywhere, something that was likewise cited by Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated. But there was another thing that made Durant take stock of how things were going in Brooklyn: The fact that his old team, the Golden State Warriors, was able to win an NBA championship this past year.
“I think what happened here in the last few months, the combination of the acrimonious talks with Kyrie Irving and the Nets about his future, their unwillingness to commit long-term to him, his inability to find a long-term deal and a sign-and-trade in the marketplace,” Wojnarowski said at the 2:53 mark of the above video. “And the Warriors winning a championship played a factor in this. I think it exasperated Kevin Durant’s frustration, I think that’s the narrative that surrounded him that he dealt with in the aftermath of him leaving Golden State, and then going on to win a title without him, contrasting with what has gone on in Brooklyn in these last three years and how James Harden comes, James Harden goes.
“Remember, James Harden was traded, they traded for him, because they thought he gave them an ability to keep Kevin Durant long-term because they didn’t know that they could count on Kyrie Irving, and he came and left in the interim,” he continued. “And in the end, I think for Kevin Durant, essentially, I’m told what he described to ownership yesterday when he asked for the trade was that he needed a change of scenery. And so, he’s headed for that, I think certainly Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, have both very likely — almost assuredly — played their last games in Brooklyn.”
It is worth mentioning that Durant has not spoke publicly since the trade request, so there we have not heard from him on why he wants to try something new.