Kevin Durant shuts down retirement rumor amidst trade drama with Nets
In the most-covered story of the NBA offseason, Kevin Durant’s trade drama with the Nets grows more bizarre by the day.
On Monday, NBA insider Marc Stein posted an updated report on Durant that caused a stir on social media.
“During the summer league in Las Vegas, one of the most connected team leaders I speak to regularly insisted that from what he’d heard, Kevin Durant would rather step down than play for the Brooklyn Nets again,” Stein wrote in its substack.
Stein was quick to rebut his own account, saying, “I told the tipster I just couldn’t believe it. I’ve been a staunch supporter of the theory that Durant The Hooper plays far too much basketball to take that stance.” Of course, as news went viral in many different outlets, that was left out.
As a result, Durant himself felt the need to address the rumor and quash any idea of early retirement.
I know most people will believe unnamed sources more than I do, but if anyone out there is listening, I have no plans to back down any time soon. Shit is weird at this point.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 15, 2022
Durant’s $198 million four-year contract, which he signed with the Nets in 2019, comes into effect next season, meaning he is under contract until 2025-26.
Factor in Durant’s love for the game and the fact that he’s only 33, and it was already almost impossible to believe the rumor about his retirement, no matter how badly he wants to leave Brooklyn.
That moment added another weird curveball to the Durant-Nets saga, piggybacking on last week’s drama between All-Star forward and team owner Joe Tsai.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Durant had a meeting with the Nets owner where he gave Tsai an ultimatum by doubling down on his trade request.
MORE: Nets owner Joe Tsai responds to Durant’s trade report
“(Durant) reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that Tsai must make a choice between Durant or pairing general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash.” to Charania.
That led to a rare moment when Tsai took to Twitter to address the report – something you don’t typically see from an NBA owner – when he showed his support for GM Marks and head coach Nash.
Our front office and coaching team have my support. We will make decisions in the best interests of the Brooklyn Nets.
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022
In the space of a week, both a star player and the team owner have addressed reports and rumors via Twitter, making this one of the most unique offseason standoffs in recent memory.
With training camp due in early September, both sides are running out of time to try and finalize a deal before it officially moves into the 2022-23 season.