There is going to come a day when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving finally skip town and the Nets are irrelevant again. But until then, they will continue to deliver drama by the truckload.
Business has really picked up this week. It started with news of Durant’s desperate attempt to regain control ultimatum to Brooklyn owner Joe Tsai. And the hits have kept coming since. Here’s a quick ICYMI rundown:
Kevin Durant wants to be traded. Or for Sean Marks and Steve Nash to be fired. That’s what he told Tsai. Durant reportedly has soured on the Nets’ brain trust and the team’s “direction.” A direction that he and best buddy Kyrie Irving have more or less charted themselves, of course. No one is arguing Marks and Nash are excellent at their respective jobs. But this is clearly a childish stunt by Durant, who must realize he boxed himself in by signing a four-year extension a year ago. The Athletic reported the Nets haven’t been able to fulfill Durant’s trade request because their asking price is astronomical. Which it can be because they have all the leverage. Hence Durant’s gambit.
Kyrie Irving definitely maybe also wants Marks and Nash fired. Irving “hates these guys,” a source told The Post. “He feels that Nash is terrible and Marks is bad.” But SNY is reporting that “Irving feels as if he’s in a good place with the organization and comfortable heading into the 2022-23 season.”
Joseph Tsai is standing by Marks and Nash. That’s the way his tweet in response to the Durant reporting is being interpreted. But Tsai did leave himself some wiggle room, no? You could make an argument keeping Durant at whatever cost is in the best interest of the Nets in the short-term. But that would be tantamount to more or less handing him and Irving the entire team.
Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022
Don’t forget about Ben Simmons! We remain in awe of how the NBA keeps finding new and creative ways to crap on this guy. The latest via reporter Ric Bucher on Colin Cowherd’s show: Simmons left the Nets’ team text group chat when he was pressed about playing in Game 4 against the Celtics. And that unnerved Durant.
Following a Game 3 loss vs Boston, the Nets players asked Ben Simmons in a group chat if he was ready to play in Game 4. Ben Simmons did not answer the question and proceeded to leave the chat, per @RicBucher on @TheHerd.
"KD was like 'This is who I'm playing with?!" ? pic.twitter.com/c5gGH7zUT1
— Unbiased NBA Fan (@nonbiasednbafan) August 7, 2022
Durant probably wouldn’t be playing with him if Irving got vaccinated and didn’t piss James Harden off. But anyway. Simmons (and The Athletic) have denied this.
? slow news day
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) August 9, 2022
That’s all for now.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
