During their All-Star Weekend press conferences, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both responded to critics who say trade demands are bad for the NBA, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Durant and Irving were Nets teammates when February began, but the demands they issued a few days apart shook up the league in advance of the trade deadline. Irving was shipped to the Mavericks and Durant was sent to the Suns in separate deals that reshaped the Western Conference playoff race.
Although it reduces stability when so many star players ask to be moved, Durant believes the fan interest that the trades spark is ultimately positive.
“I don’t think it’s bad for the league,” he said. “It’s bringing more eyes to the league; more people are more excited. The tweets that I get; the news hits that we got from me being traded, Kyrie being traded; it just brings more attention to the league and that’s really what rakes the money in, when you get more attention. So, I think it’s great for the league, to be honest.”
Durant also asked for a trade last summer, but he rescinded that request before training camp as Brooklyn wasn’t able to find an acceptable offer. Irving explored leaving as well last June, but decided to pick up his player option and stay with the Nets when he found a shortage of teams willing to deal for him at his current salary.
Irving explained Saturday that he and Durant were just making the best moves for their careers.
“Why doesn’t anyone have the ability to ask for trades? That’s my question,” Irving said. “When did it become terrible to make great business decisions for yourself and your happiness and peace of mind? Not every employer you’re going to get along with, so if you have the chance to go somewhere else and you’re doing it legally, I don’t think there’s a problem with it.”
McMenamin points out that a long list of NBA stars have requested trades in recent years, including Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Durant sees that trend as one of the positive outcomes of player empowerment.
“Teams have been trading players and making acquisitions for a long time,” he said. “Now when a player can kind of dictate where he wants to go and leave in free agency and demand a trade, it’s just part of the game now. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s bringing more and more excitement to the game.”
Won’t be long before players own their own franchises in their own leagues. Its just a matter of time
Maybe load management would go away if that happens.
The NBA has let this happen. A guaranteed contract was supposed to be binding and the player had to honor it. What Durant said is of course in support of his own position. Trade “requests” bring attention to the players, alright. A lot of negative attention comes to those players along with anything positive on social media churn. The players don’t care though, as long as they are earning their millions. In some small way, they’d like to be loved and respected by everybody, but it’s getting awfully hard to be a fan of players when they come and go like they do.
It’s also hard to be a fan of one team when players can come and go like they do. I am not a Brooklyn fan, but I can certainly imagine what they are saying about Kyrie and Kevin. I have been a San Antonio fan for years, and I know none of us liked Kawhi’s trade demand.
Ultimately, the only party that benefits from player empowerment are the players. It doesn’t benefit the owners and teams, and it sure doesn’t benefit the fans unless the star comes to your team. This is all going to get worse. Player empowerment continues to grow. As long as everyone is making millions, the NBA has little reason to try to fight it.
Cold bucket of truth there that’s hard to argue
I will say tho Brk has come out the other end looking pretty clean roster talent/cap sheet /draft capital wise with the added luxury of not having the franchise hi-jacked
Nba has always been on hyper mode relative to other sports, its spawned some of its popularity . I agree something has to be done but no clue what would actually work
Let the players move around.
Yeah…why not? Let them play for Philly today, Boston tomorrow and Detroit the next day. Whoops, they can’t do that – – I forgot to take load management into consideration.
But owners can trade with impunity?? Your point falls short
Players have been getting advice, and told how to act since they were very young. I imagine the media/public opinion is an obligation, and annoyance after a while.
Everyone is a critic, even me, but there is a lack of integrity in providing proof of the claim, along with the claim, when presenting stories to the public. That, the media should be ashamed of, and understand when certain players have had enough of them.
Sucks to make good money, and have to deal with minor annoyances created intentionally by your employer, for no other reason than to annoy and see if you get angry. And if you do, you have poor character. Thats garbage, and borderline criminal. Hard to keep quiet forever, or not crack a few eggs.
Let me try to understand. I’m supposed to feel sorry for the guy who signed a huge, multi year contract? And they didn’t twist his arm?
Maybe they should require the players to give back what they’re unwilling to give to the team and fans?
No, how about I give you a triple raise, and don’t tell you about binding, invisible, string-like, details attached that demand things like a bucket of water will now be placed over every door you walk through, dog poop in your slippers, and someone probing your inner ear with a strand of hair everytime you need to focus, and concentrate.
You could quit, but a lot of people don’t. In fact a majority of people won’t quit their jobs in cases like this. They are too scared of the unknown. I doubt Irving & Durant have unknowns like most people.
Why would this comment need moderation?
X – What are the teams not telling players that they don’t already know??
I think a lot of media stories catch players by surprise for a variety of reasons… From coming out of nowhere, to being absolutely baseless, and false, but they have to endure the cycle anyway.
Its in their contract what they can, and cannot reveal. Even in regards to a fictional media tale. They cannot even publicly deny certain tales if instructed to do so. In legal settings, proof of the claim is everything, if you know. In Lawful proceedings those facts have been vetted already, and can be verified on demand. The NBA is entrenched in commercial, corporate, legality.
Lots of hyperbole with contracts, and the legal world, where fiction is fact, and fact is fiction. None of these players are attorneys, or Lawyers, or familiar with Trust law. Many attorneys are not knowledgeable in this area of Law. Atleast I doubt many are. Just like 95%, or more of all Americans.
Plus players signed contracts that are binding, and generally phrased to cover large swaths of off-limits public conversation. True or false.
Until you are in it, you probably didn’t, or don’t realize you were bamboozled in your contract. Never thought it would happen that way.
the same player who signed that contract can be traded by the TEAM whenever the contract becomes a problem for them or a better opportunity arises for them. but when a player does the same thing theyre the bad guy?? c’mon now
the perfect example is russel westbrook. he had to deal w. trade rumors for the last year because THE TEAM traded for him and he didnt fit and his contract didnt work for THE TEAM. but he still showed up and played every game as a professional but as soon as a better opportunity came for THE TEAM they traded him. but if a player doesnt feel like the situation is best for him and they want to go theyre vilified. bffr
You know that’s part of it when you sign that $200 million contract. Sometimes you just have to deal with life. If he doesn’t want to be there anymore, he can certainly give up a large chunk of that money and the team will likely accommodate.
It benefitting the players only is all the players care about. The NBA is the most selfish of all professional sports leagues and it won’t stop until people stop going or watching. And considering fans line up hundreds deep to spend $300 on their favorite players shoe I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Things can change fast, and the quickest when you think they won’t!
The teams that keep taking these guys on deserve what they get. Of Durant continues to show that whatever team he plays for will win a championship – as long as Steph is also on that team…
Oh, and ask the Brooklyn Nets fans about the excitement that player empowerment has brought to them?? They might disagree.
LOL at Durant doing the whole “well other people do it” excuse.
Can’t expect much more from someone who isn’t a leader.
I once asked an NBA team president why the team had the audacity to charge full price for an exhibition game which is no more than a preview (in the theater sense) and further why they required season ticket holders to buy these previews instead of making them optional as they had in the past. He said exactly what DarkSide quoted; “Well, other people do it”.
Does more tweets = more guaranteed ticket sales/merchandise sold/etc. (i.e., the things that “rake the money in”)? If so, I guess I really have no idea how Twitter works. Maybe KD doesn’t, either.
Here’s the thing, I read articles when players demand trades. If I was active on Twitter, I’d probably read the tweets or whatever. Doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to Suns games or buying Irving jerseys. That’s just not how it works.
Maybe, just maybe, it would be a different story if these guys were choosing to go to teams with low attendance and fan bases that are less than enthusiastic about their team. But that’s never the case. They demand to go to places that are already thriving. It’s only good for themselves…and that’s fine but at least be honest about it.
2 words both are ring chasing this year.
Two of the most selfish players in the last 10 years. They care only about themselves and are terrible locker room guys and bad teammates. The Nets did everything to accommodate them and they crapped all over them.
100% agree.
I can’t stand Irving but he’s right here. I think we can all take solace in the fact their plan to play for the Nets failed spectacularly. Based on past history, this won’t work out well either. And like Durant said – more eyes on the league. I’m here for the train wreck it will inevitably become.
It’s 1 thing to request a trade from a bad situation. It’s quite another to demand 1, from a situation you had a part in creating.
Especially when you’ve left your prior franchises on poor terms through your own bad behavior, went MIA with your most recent employer, and spit at the team which coddled you left and right.
Don’t care who the player is or what team they play on. You pull crap like that, you don’t deserve to demand a trade.
Kyrie may be the most oblivious person on the planet. No wonder he thinks the Earth is flat.
I’m a wet blanket, and I’m great for the game.
Jesus, talk about magnets making magnets ……… KD now sounds as clueless like Kyrie.
Those are just some of the dumbest statements that came out of KD’s mouth.
Doesn’t everyone get to take a few days off for their birthday? Or a sore body part?
Or in the case of Ben Simmons, hurt feelings?
I don’t particularly like the idea of players requesting trades, I think it’s uncomfortable. But pretty much anywhere else in the world people are able to leave their jobs for a situation they deem better. This isn’t universally true but is generally true.
The closest parallel I can think of is in tv news where on-air talent is under contract and generally has a non-compete clause with a particular duration. So there’s some precedent.
As squeamish as it makes me feel, it seems to me that a player should have some say. I’m a San Francisco Giant fan and I would have been heartbroken if Buster Posey had requested a trade. But if he felt that going to the Braves was better for him then I don’t know how I could criticize that despite my emotions.
The real question is that if we are uncomfortable about it, what can we do that’s legal and ethical? It’s ridiculous to tell someone their happiness isn’t worthwhile so I don’t see any reasonable rule change or policy to implement.
A contract is a contract.
Yup, both sides sign the contract. Yet most expect only the players to honor it.
Nope; when there’s an employment contract, it’s almost universally untrue. That’s generally the whole point (from the employer’s standpoint) of having a contract.
Most employees don’t sign a lucrative multi year contracts before doing so.
If NBA players want to keep flexibility and the ability to move around, they have every right to leave money on the table and take a 1 year deal.
The issue is that lately a few players,like Kyrie, Harden, and Durant, have been trying to have it both ways. They sign the long guaranteed deal for security and then demand a trade for convenience. It should be one or the other. If you aren’t sure you can honor the long contract, just don’t sign it.
The NBA owners, as a group, have created, or at least signed onto, a system that encourages this nonsense. Many seem more intent on leveraging these situations to their immediate advantage rather than stopping it for the long term good of the league, which in the end is more valuable to their franchise than any advantage they may think they can gain. Until they can act like owners of associated businesses, and not rich kids playing with their vanity assets, the situation will get worse and worse. They know how to do it; at least most of them do based on their general business success.
Players have the leverage. Simple as that.
Not really. Or, more accurately, only when the owners don’t use theirs. The natural leverage of NBA players under contract is no greater (less in most cases, frankly) than that of other key employees.
I’m not a Brooklyn fan but I hope they win it all and shove it in their faces.. I think with the returns they got they might be better. Maybe not as talented but better. It’s not about one guy or two guys.
Durant reenforced my view of todays NBA. Durant feels that trade movement is good for the game because it’s stars are marketed more than the actual teams. Yeah it’s great for Durant fanboys but sucks for the real fans that sunk money into season tickets or purchased gear for themselves or their kids. The only thing todays stars could care about is amassing as much wealth as possible. 48 million a year just doesn’t buy the same loyalty it used to
“The only thing todays stars could care about is amassing as much wealth as possible” same thing could be said about ownership-only difference is billions instead of millions.
Ar least owners want their team to win and generally care about the fans. Guys like Kyrie and Durant can give a s**t about the fans. They are bad for the game and their legacies will reflect their decisions
I don’t begrudge owners at all. They are the ones who have their necks on the line. And don’t forget the players get 50 percent of all revenue.
Players get a guaranteed contract then sit out games or ask for trades. F them
Well said KD & KI… they can’t make more sense even if they try, trade requests are very good for the league… maybe only bad for bad teams and bad fans!
I will NEVER pull for a player who will not honor his contract.
I will, provided that player has been through a lot of time and crap with their franchise.
Obviously, Durant nor Kyrie come close to fitting that exception.
@DS. Trades are good for the league but bad for teams and fans? Your words. Did you actually read what you wrote? Without teams and fans there would be no league. Lame
I can’t blame either one of them for not wanting to play with Ben Simmons.
As expected, U.S. American plebs keep shilling for their billionaire owners.
Franchises can trade players against their will and it’s “just business” for everybody. But have one of their employees request a trade and the feudal thralls emerge in droves, babbling of “honor” and “integrity”. What a laugh!
The NBA, just like health care, education as well as various other sectors of today’s U.S. society, is a profit-driven business. The players are temporarily employed freelance workers who are perfectly entitled to pursue a situation most advantageous to themselves. Regarding loyalty they have just as little obligations towards their affiliate as said affiliate exhibits towards them. The end.
Then sign one year contracts?
Why should players deliberately abdicate from multi-year financial security when franchises are eager to buy their talents for several years?
And why would franchises set themselves up for letting their talent walk for nothing after every season?
You do know that the Nets received four first-round draft picks from the Suns as well as Dinwiddie, Markieff Morris and Finley-Smith from the Mavs for Durant and Irving, do you? Both players returned quite an amount of assets.
I suppose you haven’t thought this one quite through.
And I didn’t even mention the Mav’s 2029 first-rounder plus the two second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
Those “U.S. American plebs” are also paying more than ever to attend and watch games and as the customer of the NBA’s product they have every right to be bothered that their viewing experience is being harmed by guys with big egos who don’t seem satisfied making dozens of millions of dollars to play sports.
Guess who owns the franchises that charge fans those outrageous ticket fees? Here’s a hint: it’s not the players.
Again, shilling for billionaires, who each squeeze more risk-free money out of their NBA ventures than several of the league’s highest-paid players combined.
I have zero issues with players requesting trades in most cases. What I have an issue with are players like Kyrie and Durant who come in to burn the house down, then quickly run off while taking zero personal responsibility for what transpired (moreso Kyrie than Durant but still). They caused the problems. They wanted to be in control of the franchise and influence decision-making. They are the ones who demanded their buddies be brought in.
Schilling for them is no better than schilling for the billionaire owners.
Durant and Irving were well-known high-risk, high-reward commodities before the Nets signed them. The franchise gambled and lost. It happens all the time.
On the other hand, if a franchise wants to get rid of a player, he gets traded without anyone batting an eye.
For example, after the Bulls completely botched Lauri Markkanen’s development, he first got benched with coach Billy Donovan announcing that “the player won’t get featured anymore”. The franchise then traded Markkanen to Cleveland for basically nothing.
Getting emotional, while demanding one-sided adherence to values like loyalty and honesty from the players, is naive and foolish. The NBA is a cold hard business, whether fans like it or not.
It’s actually not a bad thing for stars to get moved. But that’s not what happened in Bklyn.
So get your FA right KD. Just wasted Bklyn’s time.
Or did Brooklyn waste their own time?
Contracts are of the NBA & teams’ making, not the players.
4 1sts, and the load of vets they received wasn’t a total waste of time from where they were at before KD & Irving. Its pretty decent. Not overwhelming, but good.
I think Joe Tsai/Marks squander it in short order though. Haven’t seen a lot of competence other than Vaughan & the Durant trade out of the Nets in a while. And, I credit Durant partially for the Vaughan promotion.
I discredit the Nets for blowing up a solid playoff team. That was stupid. They got nothing from Irving really to justify blowing up a contender. Durant was still tradeable in the off-season.
As a fan that bothers me more than Irving walking for nothing. If titles aren’t the focal point of a franchise, what is?
It was a waste. Don’t matter who’s at fault. You think you get those yrs back. Two divas who only care about themselves. Got no real ones.
From where they were before “your divas” to being solidly in the playoffs, and trading it all away? Some of this pain needs to rest on the Nets shoulders. This is far from 1 sided, and the old adage “mistakes were made” can be applied to all the parties involved probably.
I don’t trust the media to inform me of when NBA, and NBA teams make mistakes. They never do
It’s been noted journalists and past GMs that they would do the same experiment. Marks has done a decent job as he’s had to work with less prior to Durant and Kyrie. I would’ve never bet on those 3 together but Durant was hitched to Kyrie and they wanted Harden. I think owners will figure out a way to prevent this from happening. It can collapse fan bases i.e. season tickets. and hurt teams that don’t see a reasonable return for a star. I envision lockout in near future
Not going to be great for the league when fans don’t buy tickets because players are constantly moving. I’m sure nets sales won’t be the same now.