Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Vincent Goodwill shares his thoughts on Brooklyn’s battle with its superstar player, after the team announced on Tuesday that the two sides would “move forward” after weeks of waiting for a deal to be made.
Video Transcript
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VINCE GOODWILL: So after all the drama, after all the ultimatums, after all the trade requests, Kevin Durant is going back to the Brooklyn Nets. What does this mean for player empowerment, considering that Joe Tsai let Shawn Marks make a statement that he and Steve Nash came to an agreement with Joe Tsai and ownership and Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman.
What does it mean? It means that the power structure has shifted. It means that Kevin Durant might no longer be in charge of this organization. And this organization might no longer cater to his every whim, which might have gotten him in this situation to begin with.
The trade offers for Kevin Durant we’re not as plentiful and bountiful as one would have expected for a player who, at worst, is the third best player in the NBA and at the time of his MCL injury in January might very well have been the MVP. Teams had concerns about his durability. Teams had concerns about his volatility. And they were not sure if he would be willing to stay at a new destination for the long haul. The trade offers were quite paltry, actually.
But Kevin Durant, that man is going to be heavily motivated to prove everything to every team that did not put all their chips to the center of the table. He pushed all his chips to the center of the table both with his trade demand and also with that four-year extension that he signed last year, which might have very well been his biggest mistake. Had Kevin Durant planned for an emergency situation, had he taken the LeBron route of signing one-plus-one deals, he could have very well had walked. He could have very well have gotten everything that he wanted. But because he had a four-year deal, that gave the Brooklyn Nets a lot more leverage. And it took away Kevin Durant’s power.
How does that play moving forward? It means that he’ll be there for the foreseeable future. But don’t think that this is over. Kevin Durant is not getting traded because the Brooklyn Nets decided he’s not getting traded. If he’s still unhappy this time next year, don’t be surprised if we’ll have the same Bat conversation at the same Bat, time same Bat shop.
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