The Brooklyn Nets forward spoke at the team’s media day on Monday about coming back to the franchise for a third season after demanding a trade in the summer.

Video Transcript

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- Kevin, over the summer when everything was playing out, were you disappointed that you weren't traded?

KEVIN DURANT: No. Not disappointed. I can't be-- I'm not disappointed. I mean, I'm doing what I love to do, first [? off. ?] So if I'm looking at it from that lens, no, I'm not disappointed, you know?

I felt like either option, I mean, coming here, we still had a great team. But, no, I wasn't disappointed. I still love to play. I knew that wasn't going to be affected.

Regardless of what happened in the summer, I was not going to let it affect the work that needs to be put on the court when it's time. So that's what I lean on, just having fun playing ball. And I knew that's one thing that wasn't going to stop, regardless.

- Are you surprised you're still here?

KEVIN DURANT: No. I mean, I'm-- I know I'm that good that you're just not going to give me away. So that's one thing I did appreciate about [? Sean ?] and [? Joe. ?] Just like, you're too great for us to give you away. Just that easy, that simple. So I get that. I know who I am.

- You said you're not the liaison between Kyrie and the organization. But now that you're still here, what gives you the confidence that he'll be a fully committed member of the team this year compared to the last couple seasons?

KEVIN DURANT: The first year, I mean, he played more games than me and James. So, I mean, you can say he was more reliable than us that first year. And last year, if it wasn't for the vaccine mandate, he would have played.

So there's not a vaccine mandate this year. And the year that I played with him before, he was very reliable. So once the mandate was gone, I figured he's gonna be here every day. And he loves to play. I mean, I shouldn't even have to say that. We all know that.

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