Kevin Durant has spoken for the first time since requesting a trade from the Nets. What he was trying to say, though, only raises more questions.
“The ones who were locked in that gym with me know what it is, they know what I’m about,” Durant tweeted on Saturday morning. “If u haven’t been in there with me, ask around.”
The 33-year-old superstar seems to be hitting back at the widespread criticism he has faced since calling Brooklyn ownership and telling them he wants out. That bombshell came as NBA free agency was about to open on Thursday and three years to the day after the former MVP and two-time NBA champion joined Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan on the Nets. But the Super Team never was, with Durant and Irving playing just 44 regular-season games together and accounting for one playoff series victory.
What Durant meant by his tweet, though, is perplexing.
Few have questioned the 12-time All-Star’s efforts or work ethics during his short time in Brooklyn. He played hard, delivered and showed up to work, which was more than could be said at times for Irving, whose refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine left him watching from the sidelines until New York City’s mandate was eventually dropped.
As The Post’s Ian O’Connor noted, Durant’s fadeaway jumper with one second left in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference finals against the Bucks was one of the most clutch shots in New York basketball history.
If anything, it is his decision making that has come under fire, first for bolting from the Warriors and Steph Curry, who just won his fourth NBA title in six years, and then in his joining Irving. And now Durant, who won a pair of championships with the Warriors before coming to Brooklyn, has changed course again.
Where he’ll land remains to be seen, though the Nets will rake in a huge haul in return for arguably the game’s best player.
For now, Durant is making it clear what he’s all about it, which appears to be his basketball ethos. But that was never in question.
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