Kevin Durant withdraws trade request from Nets; Sixers out of sweepstakes
All offseason, the focus has been on Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets after one of the more dysfunctional seasons in NBA history in 2021-22.
After being swept in the first round of the playoffs, Durant requested a trade on June 30. The two sides have engaged in significant back-and-forth in the weeks since — some publicly. The two-time finals MVP even delivered an ultimatum to Nets governor Joe Tsai that it was either him or general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash.
On Tuesday, the Nets announced that Durant met with Marks, Nash, Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, and that the superstar has officially withdrawn his trade request. He is under contract with Brooklyn for four more years, so he will remain with the Nets.
The Philadelphia 76ers were a team Durant viewed as a desired landing spot so this means that, for now, they are out of the Durant sweepstakes.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 23, 2022
The Sixers had called the Nets about a Durant trade looking to make something happen, but Philadelphia doesn’t have the right draft compensation. Therefore, there wasn’t much traction in any talks involving Durant going to Philadelphia.
Obviously, the situation can change as the season begins. Durant may still want out of Brooklyn, and he can cause a big distraction to force his way out whenever he wants. That is when Daryl Morey and the Sixers can try again.
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