Comment The saga surrounding the next destination of Nets star Kevin Durant came to an anticlimactic end Tuesday when the team announced it would keep the 12-time all-star in Brooklyn. General manager Sean Marks announced the news in a statement saying Durant and the Nets “have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focused on basketball with one collective goal: to build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.” The announcement features the Nets logo along with that of Boardroom, the media company Durant created with director Rich Kleiman. Durant is reportedly being pursued by the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors and, most recently, the Memphis Grizzlies. His decision to stay in Brooklyn comes two weeks after Durant reiterated his trade request and told Nets owner Joe Tsai to choose between him or Marks and coach Steve Nash, according to the Athletic. Chai responded with a tweet showing his support for the front office and coaching staff. Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets. — Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022 A two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP, Durant will continue a tenure in Brooklyn defined by drama. Durant, who left Golden State to work with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn shortly after tearing his Achilles during the 2019 Finals, tried to pull the plug on the venture just three years later. Hours before the NBA’s free agency period opened on June 30 and just two weeks after the Warriors won their first title since his retirement, Durant officially requested a trade after a grueling 2021-22 season that ended with a humbling victory in first round by the Celtics. Durant’s tenure in Brooklyn has unfolded in a blur, in part because it was so closely aligned with the coronavirus pandemic. The four-time leading scorer sat out the 2019-20 season as he recovered from an Achilles injury and opted not to rush back for the bubble hosted in Orlando. During the condensed 2020-21 season, Durant was limited to 35 games due to injuries and coronavirus protocol absences before participating in an impressive postseason run that ended with a second-round loss to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks. Last season, Durant missed time again with an injury that limited him to 55 games, then had one of the most forgettable postseason performances of his career against the Celtics. The Raptors are a sleeping giant in the East despite a quiet offseason Along the way, the Nets made a blockbuster deal with the Houston Rockets for James Harden in January 2021, then reversed course by trading the All-Star guard to the Philadelphia 76ers last February. A key factor in Brooklyn’s instability has been Irving, who has missed significant time over the past three seasons with injuries, personal absences and eligibility issues related to his refusal to get a coronavirus vaccine. While Durant made sure to always defend Irving publicly, it was clear the Nets needed major changes after their disappointing showing against the Celtics. In a sign of how quickly Brooklyn has unraveled, Durant’s trade request came less than a year after he signed a four-year, $198 million extension. At first, Durant appeared to see the Nets as an opportunity to once again become the face of his own franchise, expand his business and media portfolio in a major market and build a roster full of his friends. Brooklyn has pledged to foster a player-friendly culture, even deferring to its stars on matters such as playing time and injury management. That philosophical approach backfired in the 2021-22 season, as the Irving vaccination saga overshadowed the Nets’ season, contributed to Harden’s departure, and put a huge burden on Durant. Organizational inexperience was the root cause of many of Brooklyn’s shortcomings: Tsai only took full ownership of the franchise in 2019, Marks was a relatively new executive with no prior experience managing A-list superstars, and Steve Nash was a first-time coach when he was hired. in 2020. Time and time again after landing Durant and Irving, the Nets looked like they bit off more than they could chew. While Brooklyn had the second-highest payroll in the NBA last season — trailing only Golden State — they were the only one of the 16 playoff teams not to win a postseason game. Even so, Durant played at an MVP level when healthy throughout his tenure with the Nets, averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season. However, with just one playoff series win during his time in Brooklyn, the undisputed highlight of Durant’s post-Achilles season was his central role on USA Basketball’s gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics. Otherwise, he was forced to watch arch-rivals LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry win championships while the Nets repeatedly defied expectations. Subscribe to the NBA Weekly Newsletter to get the best basketball coverage in your inbox
