The Brooklyn Nets have been trying to work out a new contract with Kyrie Irving, but they reportedly have not had much — if any — communication with their other big superstar.
Logan Murdoch of The Ringer said on “The Mismatch” podcast this week that he has been told Durant has not spoken with Nets executives in weeks. The supposed ghosting comes at a time when there has been speculation that Durant could request a trade if things don’t work out between Irving and the Nets.
“Now, you have reports that Kyrie is looking elsewhere. I made some calls. Kevin Durant has not talked to the team in weeks,” Murdoch said, as transcribed by Nets Daily. “I don’t think Kevin is confident in the front office right now. I don’t know if he’s at the stage of leaving but there’s a big uneasiness from not only from the Kyrie side, but the KD side as well.”
Murdoch also reiterated a recent report that Durant has not been recruiting free agents to play for Brooklyn.
Durant and Irving are close friends and chose to team up together with the Nets. Durant is undoubtedly disappointed with how the 2021-22 season went, but he may also be taking Irving’s side as Kyrie seeks a long-term deal.
“His biggest beef is that he feels that the front office didn’t grow to understand Kyrie, whatever that means. I would push back on that when a guy leaves for two weeks at a time … Kyrie earns the lion’s share of the blame,” Murdoch added. “But I think KD believes that, ‘Hey, you guys didn’t understand this guy. You didn’t try to figure out where he was coming from.’”
This is not the first we have heard of Durant freezing out Brooklyn’s front office. While he could be setting the stage to demand a trade, it seems more likely that he is trying to put pressure on the team to both re-sign Irving and improve the roster. If Irving and the Nets cannot come to an agreement, then things will get a lot more interesting for the team.
