By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Kevin Durant trade saga is over. The Brooklyn Nets released a statement by general manager Sean Marks which mentions that Durant will continue with the team with the goal of winning the championship.
Marks’ statement is as follows:
“Steve Nash and I, together with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday. We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.”
This statement puts an end to a long offseason story that began at the end of June when the first reports emerged about Durant requesting a trade out of the Nets. Over the next two months, several teams were reported to be interested in acquiring the former MVP and 12-time All-Star, including the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, the Phoenix Suns, the Toronto Raptors and, lately, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Memphis Grizzlies plus the Denver Nuggets.
The Nets were said to be optimistic that the whole situation will be resolved with Durant staying on board, given that it was near impossible for teams to give back the immense number of valuable assets that they would request in a potential package for their No. 1 superstar and possibly the best player in the world right now. There was also the matter of Durant’s contract since he signed a four-year, 198 million extension in 2022 and the deal is activated this season.
In the meantime, it was also reported that Durant told the Nets to basically choose between him and Nash and Marks. Ultimately, all sides officially agreed to proceed together.