Kendrick Perkins believes Kevin Durant should want out of the Brooklyn Nets

Kendrick Perkins suggests former teammate Kevin Durant should make a move away from the Brooklyn Nets after the recent Kyrie Irving trade

Kevin Durant's future with the Nets remains in question after the Kyrie trade Image credit: Twitter
By Godwin Matthew | Feb 7, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Kyrie Irving’s trade to the Dallas Mavericks sent shockwaves across the entire NBA community. The eight-time All-Star was putting up elite numbers and leading the Eastern Conference side from the front in the absence of Kevin Durant. However, after a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on February 2, Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Nets.

His move to the Mavs was another shocker as there were high expectations from the fans in LA that the 2016 NBA champion would team up with LeBron James. Amidst all of the trade drama, the one player that has not spoken up so far is Kevin Durant. Having made his way to Brooklyn to play alongside Kyrie Irving, the two-time champion remains the only star left among the original Big 3 that comprised of him, Irving and James Harden.

Despite having a stacked roster, KD has not been able to deliver a championship in Brooklyn as a lot has been happening there aside from basketball since he made a move from Golden State. Kendrick Perkins believes that after the Kyrie Irving trade, it is time that Durant should want out of Brooklyn. Speaking about the same, he said on “NBA Today” that:

“Hell no, I want to be out on the first things smoke and matter of fact I’m talking to Sean Marks and I got Rich Kleiman on the line right now to get me out. Look Kevin Durant has put up with enough, okay, he put up the last three years to deal with Kyrie Irving and everything he was going through not being available for his own personal reasons and Kevin Durant has been reliable, he’s been there for the Brooklyn Nets, he’s been available, he’s been hooping at an MVP level, he’s been more than enough,”

Kevin Durant is currently out with an MCL injury. Prior to that, he was putting up elite numbers and the Nets were looking like the team to beat in the East. Now with Kyrie Irving gone, it all once again comes down to KD and his ability to lead the team from the front. A lot of question marks have been raised about his ability to carry a team to a championship on his own, this certainly seems to be his chance of proving people wrong and leading the way from the front. Whether he stays on and takes the challenge up is something that only time will tell, but all eyes will certainly be on him until the trade deadline on Thursday.

Could Kevin Durant make a move away from the Nets before the trade deadline?

Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason. This shook the market as teams tried to see what deal they had to get a talent like KD on their roster. After a month of being involved in rumors, KD rescinded his trade request and decided that he would continue playing for the Nets and fulfil his four-year contract.

Once again things look extremely unclear for Durant as his friend Kyrie Irving left the Nets to join Luka Doncic in Dallas. Many insiders have suggested that this could force KD to think about a move from Brooklyn, but nothing is definite yet. The two-time champion could make any NBA franchise instant championship favorites, but that is what makes trading for him extremely difficult. If a team has to acquire him, they will have to give up a lot of draft assets and key All-Star calibre players.

Aged 34, Kevin Durant still has a lot to offer, but he often gets injured during crucial junctures of the season. Trading for him would pose that risk, but when healthy there is no doubt that he could make any NBA roster look good. With only two days left before the deadline, it looks extremely unlikely that the Nets would let Durant go to any other franchise. But the NBA is full of surprises and even a trade of this big a magnitude could not be written off.

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