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.”
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Silver said that he hopes that the league and the players’ association will work together during the next round of collective bargaining negotiations to find “remedies” for situations like Durant’s.
“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. Again, as I said, it will never be the case when players won’t be unhappy in certain situations, but we don’t want to see it playing out the way it is now.
“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.”
Despite the gripes that Silver and others might have with the reported trade request, Durant has reportedly “gone dark” and is neglecting to speak with figures around the league, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The two-time Finals MVP reportedly has two ideal landing spots, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski: Phoenix and Miami.
While that may be case, the Nets have made clear that they don’t plan to do business with any team unless they receive two “All-Star caliber talents” and a bevy of picks in return, per SI’s Chris Mannix. Brooklyn has not set a timeline on when it hopes to execute a trade.
