INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 05: Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on January 05, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers, like the rest of the NBA world, were watching the Kevin Durant situation with bated breath for the entire offseason. Durant said he was done with the Nets, though he left a path for reconciliation open if Brooklyn fired Steve Nash and Sean Marks.
A few weeks after that request, Nets owner Joe Tsai officially called KD’s bluff. The Nets announced that after a meeting between all parties involved, Durant is going to run it back with Brooklyn for the duration of the four-year contract he signed. How anticlimactic, especially considering all the adjoining Kyrie Irving rumors.
In a league where superstars demanding a trade often get their wish, Durant returning to the Nets is uncommon. However, it’s not unprecedented. If any team should know a thing or two about generational superstars rescinding their huge trade requests, it’s the Lakers.
Adrian Wojnarowski compared the Durant situation to what Kobe Bryant and the Lakers went through in 2007 after his trade request. For those who have been living in an underground bunker for the last 15 years, the Lakers held onto Bryant, traded for Pau Gasol, and won a few championships. Not a bad move.
In the end, Kevin Durant and the Nets played out in a similar way to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in 2007: A tumultuous summer after a trade request, talks with teams, no deal and ultimately a decision to return to the franchise.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2022
Bryant was very public in his desire to be moved, with teams like the Bulls and Mavericks making legitimate offers. Knowing what a catastrophic deal it would be to send someone of his caliber away for a collection of assets that would never equal his skill, the Lakers worked hard to restore relations.
Unlike Bryant, Durant had just signed a four-year, $198 million deal. The Nets kept the hypothetical asking price for Durant so high that no team would dare come anywhere near it in trade talks. As a result, Tsai brought Durant back into the fold for 2022-23.
At the end of the day, very few superstars will turn down a chance to compete for a championship. Durant and Bryant might be wired differently, but both of them crave rings. Durant likely saw how open the East is this year, in addition to the players Brooklyn has at their disposal, and decided to return.
Steve Nash, Joe Tsai and Sean Marks met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles on Monday and have decided to move forward with partnership, Nets say.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 23, 2022
The Nets have already accomplished the first two steps that the Lakers achieved in their quest to repair their relationship with Bryant. They convinced him to stay and surrounded him with a championship-caliber team. It remains to be seen if KD will be able to follow in Kobe’s footsteps and slip rings on his fingers.
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