Kevin Durant’s trade request has been the talk of this NBA offseason, but Commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t seem to be a fan of the drama.
Yesterday, during a news conference from the league owners’ meeting, Silver expressed concerns over KD leaving Brooklyn.
“Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players, and the expectation is, in return, they will meet their end of the bargain. I’m realistic that there’s always conversations that are going to go on behind closed doors between players and their representatives and the teams. But we don’t like to see players requesting trades, and we don’t like to see it playing out the way it is,” said Silver when a reporter asked for his opinion on Durant’s situation.
Last month before free agency began, Durant announced he wanted a trade from the Nets, preferably to the Phoenix Suns.
The 12-time All-Star joined Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving in 2019 with the hopes of turning the Nets into title contenders.
Durant enters next season on the first year of a four-year, $194 million extension and is under contract through the 2025-26 season.
“When a player asks to be moved, it has a ripple effect on a lot of other players, on that player’s team and other teams. So it’s not just potentially the league or the team governors who are impacted by that, but lots of other players as well,” said Silver. “It’s one of those issues that as we move into this collective bargaining cycle, which we are just beginning now, we intend to discuss with our Players Association and see if there are remedies for this.”
The past few seasons have been full of high-stakes drama with superstars like James Harden and Ben Simmons demanding trades.
“I think it is something where there is mutuality of interests between the players collectively and the league, having more stability. So that’s something we’ll be discussing with the union,” said Silver.