NBA commissioner Adam Silver was the latest to weigh in on Kevin Durant’s shocking trade request from the Nets, saying that the league doesn’t want to see a situation like the one involving the 12-time All-Star “playing out the way it is.”
Speaking during a Tuesday press conference at the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, Silver addressed the idea of a player requesting to be moved while still under contract with a particular franchise. That’s currently the case with the 33-year-old Durant, who is entering the first year of a four-year, $198 million contract extension that he just signed last August.
“Look, this needs to be a two-way street. Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players and the expectation is, in return, they will meet their end of the bargain,” Silver said. “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.”
