NBA players react to Kevin Durant's trade request from the Brooklyn Nets
One of the biggest names in the NBA has made himself available hours before the new league year officially begins. Kevin Durant asked Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai to be traded from the franchise on Thursday, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, despite signing a four-year, $198 million max extension in August.
Durant's teammate Kyrie Irving opted into his $36.5 million option with the team on Monday after failing to receive any sign-and-trade interest from teams other than the Los Angeles Lakers. Irving and Durant had not had any contact with the Nets since Irving opted into his deal on Monday.
The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are two of the teams Durant has at the top of his list, sources told ESPN. Nets general manager Sean Marks is working with Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman to find a trade, Kleiman told ESPN.
Durant averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists this season but played just 55 games during the regular season as he recovered from an MCL injury. Irving played just 29 regular-season games after deciding not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making him ineligible to play home games in New York.
News of Durant's trade request put the NBA on alert, with many players taking to social media to react to the news.
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Portland Trail BlazersplayerJusuf Nurkic resurfaced a photoshopped image of Durant in a Blazers jersey alongside Damian Lillard, which Nurkic initially shared on Saturday.
And Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, also got into the photoshop game on his Instagram Stories.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, whose former teammate Ben Simmons was traded to the Nets for James Harden, had a succinct response to the news.
Meanwhile, this 6-year-old Embiid tweet began making the rounds again after Thursday's news.
If Durant wants to make a major career change, the Los Angeles Rams are reminding him of what he said about Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who just signed an extension that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
