ESPN: Kevin Durant requested trade to Phoenix Suns after Kyrie Irving deal
It looks like what most people assumed has been confirmed. After Kyrie Irving asked for a trade after being unable to come to terms with the Brooklyn Nets on a contract extension, Kevin Durant requested a trade for the second time with the team, according to reporting by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne.
According to their report, after Irving’s trade, Durant requested a trade for the second time. However, this time was different in that Durant requested to be traded specifically to the Phoenix Suns. Per Windhorst and Shelburne, Durant’s wanting a trade was more of a request than a demand like Irving did once the contract extension talks stalled.
After that, the Nets traded Kevin Durant and TJ Warren to the Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, and four unprotected first-round picks. Their report goes more in-depth on the conversations that were had that led to the trade:
“On Monday afternoon, Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman had asked for a meeting. It was a somber one. Less than 24 hours earlier the Nets had traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks after a whirlwind three days of action. Now Durant was repeating the words he had said on the eve of free agency last June that had turned the NBA on its side for weeks. Again, Durant told Marks he wanted to be traded. Only this time, Durant specifically asked to be traded to the Suns. The group then FaceTimed Nets owner Joe Tsai, who was at his home in San Diego, with the decision.”
