ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has revealed that many NBA team owners have congratulated Joe Tsai over his handling of the saga involving Kevin Durant.
The All-Star forward, a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, has altered his stance following a trade request earlier this offseason, bringing an end to what had been a drama-filled period for the NBA. According to Smith, there was a fear that bowing to KD’s demands would have ushered in unprecedented changes to player empowerment.
“I have never seen owners this gung-ho. I mean, they’re tired of it,” the analyst said on Wednesday’s episode of First Take on ESPN (H/T Bleacher Report for transcription). “What has happened in Brooklyn alone is enough to have set NBA players back decades. That’s the kinda damage that this nonsense that was going on has done.
“So to let them get away with it this time, it could not happen. It could not happen, because if it did, it would have changed the course of empowerment forever. Empowerment people don’t have a problem with. Entitlement is what they have an issue with.
“That was the confusion, and that’s why Joe Tsai took this position. Because every owner that I know, unsolicited, has said kudos to him. And they mean it.”
