Tag: durant

Recap: Kevin Durant talks turbulent offseason during Nets media day

Superstar Kevin Durant was ready for media day, as he took on reporters answering questions about his offseason.

This offseason was quite a long and stressful one for Brooklyn Nets fans, but superstar Kevin Durant explains his offseason actions on NBA Media Day.

Durant led the team to the first round of the playoffs, where the team disappointed and was swept out of the postseason. The star forward came to media day prepared, ready for questions about his actions.

He averaged nearly 30 points per game last season, alongside seven boards and six dimes per contest. Durant led the team due to Irving’s absence during away games and felt dissatisfied with the organization’s commitment to winning.

Durant discussed his trade request, his feelings for upper management, and the team’s culture going forward.

Nets don’t view Warriors’ Wiggins or Poole as Durant trade centerpieces

The Brooklyn Nets are uninterested in a trade for Kevin Durant revolving around Andrew Wiggins or Jordan Poole.

While the the league is awaiting a Kevin Durant trade, more news has come out casting doubt on a trade back to the Golden State Warriors.

Durant played with the Warriors just a few years ago, but over the last few days the GM inferred that they’d rather run it back with their roster.

NBA insider Zach Lowe discussed the situation on The Lowe Post podcast and suggested that the team is uninterested in a trade revolving around Andrew Wiggins or Jordan Poole. Apparently, the organization doesn’t consider them a centerpiece for the trade.

[pickup_prop id=”17064″]

Per Lowe:

“The intel I have is that the Nets are not super high on Wiggins or Poole as sort of centerpiece players,” he continued. “Then you get to the other guys who are relatively unproven in the NBA. So I don’t know if there ever really was a deal there that the Nets would have done. Obviously, you have to explore it if you’re the Warriors.”

[mm-video type=video id=01g8k3d0wwpr68typ2fr playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g8k3d0wwpr68typ2fr/01g8k3d0wwpr68typ2fr-f989a599f5efffd647ca124f2b6f0f9d.jpg]

[listicle id=46062]

Jerry West believes Nets’ Kevin Durant won’t be traded

NBA legend Jerry West discussed the Kevin Durant trade request and says the sharpshooting forward won’t be shipped anywhere.

There have been conflicting reports over the last several weeks about the future of the Brooklyn Nets’ disgruntled superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. NBA legend Jerry West talked about the situation on SiriusXM’s NBA Radio.

One of the most influential people in basketball, West hopped on SiriusXM to discuss trade rumors and Durant’s talent. West called Durant a, “serious basketball player.”

West doubted that any trades will happen for the former MVP, “My best guess…he’s not going to be traded. You can’t give enough to get a guy like [Kevin Durant].”

Some rival NBA owners believes that the Nets don’t necessarily need to trade the sharpshooting forward. This is supported by the fact that the team has taken its time in listening to trade offers, ensuring that they return value to the franchise.

Despite Durant’s preferred destinations, Brooklyn seems adamant to receive a certain level of talent and future draft stock. Let’s continue to watch as Brooklyn decides what to do with the star going forward.

[pickup_prop id=”25691″]

[mm-video type=video id=01g7zhc79kbm2a5h1cmq playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g7zhc79kbm2a5h1cmq/01g7zhc79kbm2a5h1cmq-9e4141279c2bad813e89b4ccf3177ea6.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=23306]

NBA owner: Nets could decide not to honor Kevin Durant’s trade request

An NBA owner says the Nets could decide to simply not honor Kevin Durant’s trade request.

Kevin Durant’s trade request from the Brooklyn Nets has made him one of the most talented players to make themselves available while still in their prime.

Reports now indicate that the Nets may be sticking to their guns, either awaiting a trade package that gives the team young talent, All-Star leadership or a plethora of future draft picks, or deciding to keep the former MVP.

One NBA team owner told Yahoo Sports, that Brooklyn doesn’t have to trade the sharpshooting forward.

“Not really an issue of players seeking trades with multiple years [remaining],” the rival team owner said. “Honestly, players in that position can test their leverage, but at the end of the day, they’re under contract and you don’t have to trade them.”

This comes just days after reports come out that former seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving wants to stay with the organization. An improving relationship between the Nets front office and Durant’s friend, Irving, could be extremely beneficial for bringing the slender forward back.

[mm-video type=video id=01g7sczp9yhh619pf6sx playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g7sczp9yhh619pf6sx/01g7sczp9yhh619pf6sx-163169c1ffe10fca1297aeffdce98109.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=44401]

Windhorst: There is no bidding war to trade for Nets star Kevin Durant

ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst opened up on the Kevin Durant bidding war, or more accurately, lack thereof.

Despite Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s trade request from the Brooklyn Nets, sports analysts inferred that the bidding war for the two stars hasn’t really taken off yet.

When it comes to Durant, specifically, there hasn’t been a big market even though over half of the league has called the organization with interest in the sharpshooting slender forward. Teams have made their offers, but the Nets haven’t received the “bidding war” that they were hoping for.

NBA insider Brian Windhorst took to ESPN to discuss the market for Durant and its current state. Windhorst hinted that the Nets expected more than what they are receiving at the moment.

Windhorst reported the following:

You know, when, when the Nets put him on the market, I think they thought there was gonna be a tremendous bidding war. And while there’s a lot of interest, from what I can tell that bidding war isn’t really hot right now, the teams have made their offers, and they don’t really feel the need to increase them. Now maybe we’ll see a little bit of action coming out of Summer League, all of the executives are gathering in Las Vegas over the next few days and there could be a restart in action there. But there’s no there’s been a couple of things that have happened that have even made it more complicated involved The Utah Jazz. The Jazz make this crazy trade with Rudy Gobert, last week where they get an incredible haul of draft picks which the Nets responded by saying, ‘Now the price for Durant just went higher’ and the rest of the league I SKIND OF SAYING, ‘We don’t think so. We don’t want to pay that price. We didn’t like that trade.’ And then you look at Donovan Mitchell after the Gobert trade there was a belief that maybe Mitchell would be next and maybe at some point he will be, but for now the Jazz are telling people they don’t intend to trade him and on Mitchell’s side he’s going to stand pat. He’s not going to force any action right now. So without Mitchell in the market, the teams are not trying to outbid each other. It doesn’t make sense for teams to sell their house to pay for a car even if their cars a Lamborghini, like Kevin Durant.

[mm-video type=video id=01g78cypass9nbm255z1 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g78cypass9nbm255z1/01g78cypass9nbm255z1-c8cf3333544571c3eba9e8dd95857e98.jpg]

[listicle id=45728]

Report: Brooklyn Nets ‘poked around’ Myles Turner trade

Reports indicate that the Brooklyn Nets have explored a possible trade involving Pacers big man Myles Turner.

While Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, many teams have been calling the front office with interest but reportedly the Nets had some interest in block specialist Myles Turner.

NBA journalist Austin Krell reported the Nets have, “poked around” on Myles Turner.

This indicates that the franchise had some interest for the undervalued defensive center. The trade wasn’t specified if it was for Durant or the other disgruntled All-Star Kyrie Irving; even though it is believed that the Nets want to ship Durant first to see what they receive before sending Irving away.

However now that the Boston Celtics have traded for efficient playmaker Malcom Brogdon, the Pacers will likely cling to their two young guards, Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield.

According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the former MVP has garnered interest from most of the league, with teams willing to ship their futures to Brooklyn.

“I’m told that more than half the league has already called Brooklyn about the possibility of acquiring Kevin Durant,” said Wojnarowski on NBA Today.

[mm-video type=video id=01g6k1rmm2aa0k7g5f2d playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g6k1rmm2aa0k7g5f2d/01g6k1rmm2aa0k7g5f2d-19880c7e0f33b31ab507c231e93e9ab9.jpg]

[listicle id=45588]

Kevin Durant will make first return to Bay Area on Feb. 13 vs. Warriors at Chase Center

After signing with the Nets in the 2019 offseason, Kevin Durant will make his first return to the Bay Area against the Warriors on Feb. 13.

On Dec. 22, the Golden State Warriors will open the season in Brooklyn against the Nets. Along with the first game of the 2020-21 campaign, Golden State’s tilt with Brooklyn is slated to serve as Kevin Durant’s first chance at playing time with the Nets.

After signing a four-year, $164 million contract over the 2019 offseason, Durant missed his entire first season in Brooklyn due to the Achilles injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals with Golden State.

With Brooklyn’s only trip to Chase Center in 2019 getting canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Durant and the Nets will travel to San Francisco for ] Durant’s first return to the Bay Area on Feb. 13.

During his three seasons with the Warriors, Durant averaged 25.8 points on 52.4% shooting from the field with 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 blocks per contest. Along with winning a pair of championships, Durant earned NBA Finals Most Valuable Player honors twice with Golden State.

Before joining Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in Golden State, Durant notched 35 or more points in 10 different contests against the Warriors over his career. In 2014, the then Oklahoma City Thunder forward tallied a career-high 54 points on 19-of-28 shooting from the field with six assists, four rebounds and two steals in 43 minutes.

On his way to scoring 37 points during a game between the Thunder and Warriors in 2016, Durant matched another career-high performance with seven 3-pointers.

The Saturday night primetime matchup against Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets will come during a four-game homestand in Golden State.

View Golden State’s full schedule of the first 37 games via @warriorsPR on Twitter:

[lawrence-related id=32897,32893,32876]

[listicle id=32757]

Former Warrior Kevin Durant featured in Drake’s new ‘Laugh Now Cry Later’ music video

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant made an appearance in Drake’s latest music video for his new single “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Late Thursday night, musical artist Drake released his highly anticipated new single featuring Lil Durk.

In Drake’s video for “Laugh Now Cry Later,” the Canadian hitmaker is joined by a cast of elite athletes at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Among the high caliber sports stars in the video, a former Golden State Warrior makes an appearance. Throughout the video, former Warrior turned Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant was playing basketball against Drake.

Durant’s highlights against Drake included dunks, jumpers and blocked shots.

Watch the full video for Laugh Now Cry Later via YouTube:

On Twitter, Durant shared a photo from the video that included his dunk over the longtime Toronto Raptors fan.

Via @KDTrey5 on Twitter:

Alongside the Texas Longhorns product, Cleveland Browns pass-catcher Odell Beckham Jr., social media influencer Aggy Abby, Oakland native Marshawn Lynch and comedian Druski2Funny appear alongside Drake in the video.

Although Durant is on the court in Drakes video, the former MVP is still recovering from the Achilles injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals. While he’s working back to make his long-awaited Brooklyn debut, Durant’s teammates are busy at Disney World.

On the court, Durant’s Brooklyn Nets capped off their run of seeding round games against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Caris LeVert led the Nets with 37 points, nine assist and six boards, but it wasn’t enough for the potential Bubble MVP.

Lillard continued his scorching stretch of games with 42 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field with eight makes coming from beyond the arc. Lillard recorded a double-double with 12 assists. Portland sealed their bid for the playoffs with a 134-133 victory over Brooklyn.

In the first round of the Eastern Conference postseason, Durant’s Nets will match up with Drake’s Raptors.

[lawrence-related id=25336,30385,30223,22607,21920]

[vertical-gallery id=29502]

Lakers’ Alex Caruso reveals his ‘welcome to the NBA moment’ came against Kevin Durant and the Warriors

In an interview with Dan Patrick, Lakers guard Alex Caruso revealed his “Welcome to the NBA Moment” came against Kevin Durant and the Warriors.

Since going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016, Alex Caruso has developed into a rising household name for the Los Angeles Lakers. After a stint in the G League and a pair of two-way contracts, Caruso signed a two-year deal to stay in Los Angeles over the offseason.

Alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the 2019-20 NBA campaign, Caruso is averaging 5.5 points on 42.0% shooting from the field with 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. While the Lakers clinched the top-seed in the Western Conference on Monday against the Jazz, Caruso recorded five assists, three points and three rebounds in 23 minutes.

[lawrence-related id=30210]

As the Lakers wait out the seeding round in the Orlando Bubble, the 26-year-old point guard was asked about his “welcome to the NBA moment.” In an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Caruso revealed his memorable moment came in a match up with Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors.

Via The Dan Patrick Show:

I have a good one. We were playing Warriors, before they broke up, the band, and it was Klay [Thompson], Steph [Curry], KD [Kevin Durant]. And we were playing a game, and at that point, our Lakers team backcourt was me, Isaiah Thomas and ‘Zo [Lonzo Ball]. And we went out to match up after a timeout, and I’m doing the mental check as a point guard matching up ‘him, him, him,’ and then I look, and I’m like, ‘okay, that leaves me with KD.’ — I look over at the bench, and coach Brian Keefe is just shaking his head ‘yup.’

So I do my normal pick up at fullcourt just to give a little pressure — and he inbounds the ball and kinda looks around and realizes I’m guarding him and he’s like ‘hey man, give me the ball.’

100% he said it out loud.

Despite Durant’s confidence, Caruso said he held his own against the former Most Valuable Player, calling the experience a “pretty neutral encounter.”

I will say I held my own. He went 1-for-2, hit a tough shot and then I got a turnover. I feel like that was a pretty neutral encounter.

In a matchup with the Warriors in April 2019, Caruso was the centerpiece of a viral highlight that left his teammates in awe. The guard flew by Durant and Klay Thompson for a vicious putback dunk.

Via @DefPenHoops on Twitter:

While Caruso and the Lakers are busy in the Orlando Bubble, Durant is working his way back to the court from injury. Caruso will have to wait until 2020-21 to link up with the player who helped welcome him to the NBA.

[lawrence-related id=28750,28610,28528,25629,23397]

[vertical-gallery id=29502]

Warriors crack top-15 in best-represented franchises on ESPN’s Top-74 list

The six players represented by the Golden State Warriors on ESPN’s top-74 players of all-time list combined for 2,445 games played with the franchise.

With no hoops action on the calendar, ESPN stirred the pot with the release of their Top-74 NBA players of all-time list. NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain led the Golden State Warriors near the top, ranking at No. 6.

A pair of recent Golden State championship teammates cracked the top-15. Stephen Curry slid in at No. 13 on the list with his fellow Most Valuable Player winner Kevin Durant right behind him at No. 14.

Outside of the top-15, the Golden State Warriors were represented by three other players on the list.

Rick Barry, Robert Parrish and Bernard King rounded out Golden State’s bid at No. 43, No. 61, and No. 69 on the list. Notable Golden State omissions included Klay Thompson, Chris Mullin, Draymond Green and Nate Thurmond.

When it comes to franchise representation across the list, USA Today’s HoopsHype compiled the numbers, and the Warriors ranked right in the middle at No. 15.

The six players named on ESPN’s list combined for 2,445 games played while suited up with the Golden State Warriors.

The Boston Celtics were listed at the top, with 17 players combining for 9,080 games played with the team. The Los Angeles Lakers (17 players combining for 8,376 games) and the Houston Rockets (12 players combining for 4,162 games) rounded out the top three.

[lawrence-related id=26576,25928,25658,25400,24444,22415]