The Nets held their team media day on Monday ahead of training camp, a telltale sign that the NBA is back in full swing ahead of the start of the 2022-23 regular season next month.
Brooklyn star Kevin Durant had an eventful offseason, during which he requested a trade just a year after signing a four-year contract extension.
Durant eventually rescinded the trade request, instead choosing to move forward with Brooklyn into this season and potentially beyond.
“It was a lot of uncertainty around our team last year,” Durant said as he explained why he requested a trade. I committed to this organization for four years last summer with the idea that we were gonna be playing with that group.”
“That group” refers to the trio of Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. But Harden was traded in the middle of last season to the 76ers for a package that included three-time All-Star guard Ben Simmons.
Durant said he’s not disappointed to still be a member of the Nets, and that he appreciated how the front office approached his request to be traded.
“I’m not disappointed. Coming here, we still had a great team,” Durant said. “I know I’m that good that you’re not gonna just give me away. That’s one thing I did appreciate about Sean [Marks] and Joe [Tsai].”
With last season’s first round sweep at the hands of the Celtics in the rearview mirror, expectations remain high for the Nets as they look to compete for the franchise’s first NBA championship.
“It’s a year of growth, and a year of looking in the mirror like ‘we f—-d up’,” Durant said.
Time will tell if Durant and the new-look Nets can progress this year and be in position to make a push for an NBA title in 2023.
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