Photo: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox
Kevin Durant is staying with the Brooklyn Nets weeks after publicly requesting a trade away from the team.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reports Durant and his manager, Rich Kleiman, met with Nets owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks in Los Angeles on Monday, which resulted in the All-Star forward deciding "to move forward with the partnership."
Nets general manager Sean Marks confirmed the meeting and agreement in a statement shared on behalf of the team on Tuesday.
"Steve Nash and I, together with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday, We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn," Marks said.
Earlier this month, Charania reported that Durant reiterated his trade request and gave Nets owner Joe Tsai an ultimatum during a face-to-face meeting over the weekend.
Durant reportedly told Tsai that he doesn't have faith in the Nets' direction and insisted that Tsai "choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks or coach Steve Nash," sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
The sources described the meeting between Durant and Tsai -- which took place exactly one year after the All-Star agreed to a four-year, $198 million contract extension -- as "transparent and professional," according to Charania.
On June 30, Kleiman told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Marks was working with him and Durant on finding a trade for the former NBA regular season and Finals MVP.
Wojnarowski reports that Durant included the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat on his wish list of trade partners, however, specified that the Nets planned to move the perennial All-Star to whatever team offers the best deal.
In June, Charania reported that Durant was weighing his options and monitoring the Nets' situation regarding point guard Kyrie Irving's future before Irving's player option for 2022-23 was exercised days later.
Durant and Irving both signed with the Nets as free agents in 2019, making Brooklyn an immediate favorite to contend for an NBA championship.
However, the Nets have failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals since the duo joined the team, with Irving missing the majority of their first season together due to injuries and the 2021-22 regular season due to New York's COVID restrictions prohibiting him from playing in home games without being vaccinated.
Durant, a 12-time All-Star selection, averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game during the 2021-22 season.
The Celtics eliminated the Nets in the first round of an eventual run through the 2022 NBA Playoffs before being defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games during the NBA Finals.
Boston has since bolstered its already stacked lineup by acquiring guard Malcolm Brogdon in a blockbuster trade with the Indiana Pacers.
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