NBA superstar Kevin Durant offered an intriguing response as he attempted to backtrack on his explosive comments slamming his Brooklyn Nets from earlier this week.
On Tuesday, the Nets suffered a historic 153-121 defeat to the Sacramento Kings. It was the most points the Kings - who haven’t qualified for the playoffs since the 2005/06 season - have scored in 29 years while it was a second successive loss for the Nets after they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Durant - who is in his 16th season in the NBA - was clearly furious with the performance as well as the expectations surrounding his Nets team. In an exclusive interview with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Durant appeared to fire shots at his teammates as he named them before explaining how fans expect the Nets to win simply because he was playing.
However, the 2014 MVP has appeared to go back on his comments and insisted the reaction was not what he intended. Durant took ownership for the comments, claiming he wasn’t attacking his teammates but rather was trying to calm the fanbase amid a turbulent start to the 2022/23 NBA season.
“I maybe should have explained myself a bit better to Chris Haynes, but that wasn’t my intentions when I said it,” Durant said on Boardroom. “I was trying to protect my teammates from the expectations from everybody else. Like, relax a little bit, let us work this out until everything gets right - but look how we’re playing now: 40 point wins, 30 point wins, five straight games allowing under 100.
“Then we give up 150 and [then] lose to the Lakers and it’s like, ‘Ah s***, the sky’s falling!’ You can see the progression with guys stepping up. There’s going to be ups and downs - I don’t expect us to be perfect or great every night. There will be games where we play incredible basketball and games where we might not be able to hit s***.
“I definitely could have worded it better. I don’t put that on anyone but myself, because I could have explained it like this.”
Durant then shed light on his own feelings following the release of his comments, adding: “When I said you expect them to win because of me - which is how I feel because your expectations are way higher for these guys and the team because [of me] - I sent a text out to the guys. I really felt bad about that, to the point where I was almost embarrassed to walk in front of my teammates because I didn’t mean I that way.
“I know it’s plastered everywhere. I know your friends and family have sent this to you. My intentions were to calm out Nets fans down, because they’ve been hearing so much about us and I feel concerned about that as a player. I feel like I represent the fans I play for on top of the name I’m playing for on the back. Any time I get the chance to calm the noise with the state of our team, I don’t mind doing that. I think my approach could have been way better.”
The Nets have endured a difficult season so far as they sit 10th in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn have a record of 7-9 while they have already fired head coach Steve Nash and suspended All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
Durant’s comments are particularly curious given the superstar forward handed in a trade request this offseason and allegedly gave the franchise an ultimatum to either fire general manager Sean Marks and coach Nash or send him to another team. He is committed to win in Brooklyn for the time being and will aim to help the Nets to victory when they face the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.
