“[Head coach] Steve Nash and I, along with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman yesterday in Los Angeles,” Marks said in a statement released Tuesday. “We agreed to proceed with our cooperation. We are focused on basketball with one collective goal: to build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.” The Tsais own the Nets, while Kleiman is Durant’s business partner. The 12-time All-Star submitted a trade request on June 30, starting a summer of uncertainty for the Nets. A potential trade would have changed the outlook of the league – the 33-year-old is a former NBA MVP and widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Durant’s decision to stay with the Nets represents a dramatic reversal. Earlier this month, ESPN and The Athletic reported that during a meeting with Joe Tsai, Durant asked the Nets owner to choose between him and Marks and Nash. Now the parties seem committed to working together. Durant is under contract with the Nets for four more years, one of the factors that made trading him so difficult, as other teams would have to give up huge amounts of draft or player capital to get him. Brooklyn is among the favorites to win the NBA championship next season and Durant’s decision will increase their chances of a title. The Nets lost in the first round of the 2021-22 playoffs after seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving was unable to play in home games for much of the season due to his vaccination status. That won’t be a problem this season, after a change in New York’s rules in March allowed Irving to play at Barclays Center. The Nets will also have another All-Star, Ben Simmons, on the roster after he arrived in a February trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. The Australian missed last season with the Nets due to a back injury, but is set to return for the upcoming campaign. The 26-year-old has made the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice during his career and was also the Rookie of the Year in 2018. The Nets will also welcome back Joe Harris, a reliable three-point shooter, from injury.
