Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant has had a lot to deal with over the past month or so. It started this season when he injured the MCL in his right knee on Jan. 8 against the Miami Heat. Durant has been rehabbing ever since with the hope that he can come back sooner than later.
Before Durant hurt his knee, he was having an MVP-level season for the Brooklyn Nets. He is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from behind the three-point line. However, things changed for him and the Nets once Kyrie Irving requested his trade.
Even though Durant requested a trade before this season started, there was no indication that he wanted to leave Brooklyn again with things going so well. However, as has been reported by multiple sources, once Irving wanted out, Durant wanted out as well. In his introductory press conference on Thursday, Durant gave his reaction to Irving’s trade request:
“Yeah, I was upset that we couldn’t finish. I thought we would have some good momentum, we were finally building the culture that we always wanted. I felt like every game we were building our chemistry. But, I didn’t know what was going on with Kyrie and his situation with the organization. So, I didn’t really focus on that. I only focused on what we were doing on the court. And, it was a blow to our team. It just took away our identity. He was a huge part of what we do. His game, he’s a Hall of Fame player, a great, great player that can do everything on the floor, and we relied on that. So, without him we didn’t have a clear identity.”
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