Kevin Durant shook the NBA earlier this summer by demanding a trade from the Nets. Not only that – the two-time NBA champion doubled down by issuing an ultimatum to the team’s owner telling him to choose between him or Steve Nash and Sean Marks.
The saga ended with Durant and the Nets reaching an agreement to continue working together for another year. But the damage to KD’s reputation has already been done, says a former coach.
It didn’t help for his trade request either as teams that had interest in acquiring him realized that the player wants out and were unwilling to make the kind of offers that the Nets wanted.
Via Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com:
One former coach told Heavy Sports that Durant essentially sabotaged himself. “The moment a player comes out and mouths those famous words: ‘Hey, man, get me the up out of here,’ he just discounted himself,” he said. “He just hurt not only his prospect for a trade happening quickly, but he has just put his franchise in a position of losing leverage, because people think, ‘Well, I get a fire sale price, because that guy has already indicated he wants out of there.’
