The Hidden Motive Behind The Kevin Durant Trade Request

Two weeks ago I wrote a piece detailing the lack of leverage Kyrie Irving held in the contract-extension dispute between him and the Brooklyn Nets. At the time I noted that it was the biggest story looming over free agency —

I was wrong.

I was right that Irving held zero leverage and any attempt to fool the media/public with other ideas would end abruptly with him opting into his one-year, thirty-six-million dollar player option. However, this was the tip of the iceberg regarding free-agency big splashes. In what appeared to be a "don’t mess with my friends” move, Durant promptly notified Brooklyn’s actual decision-makers of his newfound desire to be traded.

Durant supposedly gave Brooklyn a ‘wish list’ (holds back laughter) with the two top-seeded teams from each conference in last year's playoffs, Phoenix and Miami, sitting atop. The following day Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a MASSIVE haul. Naturally, we all rushed to wonder — if Gobert was worth five picks and five players, then what was Durant, having four years left on his current contract with Brooklyn, worth?

If Durant’s true desire is to be traded to a new team, this Gobert deal couldn’t have come at a worse price or time. Brooklyn, again, finds themselves in a situation where they hold effectively 100% of the leverage due to the length of Durant’s deal (four years remaining), meaning the Nets could easily decide they don’t like any incoming offers and force Durant to either continue playing for the Nets or go full James Harden/Ben Simmons mode.

The elephant in the room created by the final price Minnesota paid for Gobert is the value of availability and loyalty. The Timberwolves were willing to pay well over market value for Gobert more so because they’re confident he’ll be a consistent on-court product that won’t submit to the new wave of players using teams like musical chairs, then for his ability to elevate the team to a championship level.

This leads to the question — what’s Durant’s value to the average NBA franchise compared to someone like Gobert? More specifically, what’s the value of perceived loyalty? Durant’s peculiar decision to ask for a trade, from what’s probably, currently, the best-built roster for him to be on (given any team he were to be traded to would have to gut critical pieces of their present and future to acquire him), has landed 2022 NBA free agency one of its most compelling case studies to date.

In the early stages, the Nets appear to be holding onto the idea that Durant’s value should be far higher than what the market is currently willing to return. It’s worth noting that, while the Nets are holding onto the leverage that is the duration of the Durant deal, he’s going to be 34 when the 2022/2023 season starts and has a less than ideal injury history, having torn his Achilles in 2019. There’s no debate that over the next three seasons Durant will be able to find and create his own offense at an all-NBA rate, but the question franchises are asking themselves now is at what price is his future potential worth, given the negative inter/externalities that come with his acquisition?

With all of that said, Kevin Durant is not an idiot. He’s a hyper-aware and socially active individual who constantly monitors the pulse of the media, general public, and decision-makers of the league. He also wears his heart on his sleeve, for better and worse, and perceives loyalty as something more intimate than the relationship he has between himself, his employer, and his employees' fan bases. He understands that there are Nets fans and there are Kevin Durant fans.

But the idea that he wants a trade because he didn’t appreciate the divide between ownership and his best friend/co-star, Kyrie Irving, feels more like a front, to appear loyal and consistent with his prior established values, than an actual desire to leave. It also could be a test of his internal value to the franchise. Is Durants’ trade request doubling as a “what would you give up to keep me” ask? Any leader who feels entitled to a share in equity that includes making crucial decisions on the future of the company they’re invested in is going to want to feel that they’re adequately valued and heard within their organization.

The obvious question that stems from this thought is, have the Nets not already proven their loyalty to Durant through their actions? They fired Kenny Atkinson and hired Steve Nash at the request of Durant and Irving. They traded multiple future assets to acquire Durant’s friend and ex-teammate, James Harden. They remained quiet, and hospitable towards Kyrie Irving, who’s been available for roughly 40% of games since his arrival three years ago.

Frankly speaking, the Nets have allotted Durant the power of choice and are yet to realize any sort of gain from doing so. Brooklyn deciding not to reward Irving with a multi-year extension is flat-out good practice. It’s not a knock on his game as much as it is a reflection of the real value he’s provided to the organization since his arrival. As a member of that organization, wouldn’t you want your franchise to operate with best practices in mind?

The Durant trade request screams “you better keep listening to me or else” more than it does “I don’t want to be here anymore” from my vantage point. Whether that means someone in the front office needs to be relieved of their duties, a new coach needs to be installed, or a change in the roster needs to take place — there’s a hidden motive in Kevin Durant’s trade request that doesn’t end with him on another team in the upcoming 2022/2023 NBA season.