AP source: Durant reiterates desire to be traded by Brooklyn

FILE - Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) drives against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, right, during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series April 25, 2022, in New York. Durant has again told Nets owner Joe Tsai that he wants to be traded, reiterating a request he first made nearly six weeks ago, a person with knowledge of the matter confirmed Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (John Minchillo, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Kevin Durant has again told Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai that he wants to be traded, reiterating a request he first made nearly six weeks ago, a person with knowledge of the matter confirmed Monday night.

Durant also told Tsai that he has concerns about the Netsā€™ direction under coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the perennial All-Star nor the team confirmed details of the talks publicly.

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The Athletic first reported details of the latest Durant-Tsai meeting.

ā€œOur front office and coaching staff have my support,ā€ Tsai tweeted Monday night. ā€œWe will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.ā€

This is the latest phase of a saga that began June 30, when Durant told the Nets he wanted a trade just as this summerā€™s free agent period was beginning. Durant isnā€™t a free agent; he has four years and $198 million remaining on his contract with the Nets, who will undoubtedly demand a haul of players and draft picks in any trade agreement for the 12-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA champion.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has never been a fan of trade demands going public.

ā€œThis needs to be a two-way street,ā€ Silver said last month. ā€œTeams provide enormous security and guarantees to players and the expectation is, in return, they will meet their end of the bargain. Iā€™m realistic that thereā€™s always conversations that are going to go on behind closed doors between players and their representatives and the teams. But we donā€™t like to see players requesting trades, and we donā€™t like to see it playing out the way it is.ā€

Durant has spent three seasons with Brooklyn, not playing in the first of those years while he recovered from a torn Achilles. He averaged 29.9 points in 55 games last season, after leading the U.S. to Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games last summer.

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