Kevin Durant Sounds Off On Brooklyn Nets Following Embarrassing Loss

Winning four of their last six games heading into Sacramento on Tuesday night, the Brooklyn Nets finally looked like they were beginning to turn their season around with newly appointed head coach Jacque Vaughn taking over for Steve Nash.

Kyrie Irving’s absence still loomed large over the heads of this franchise, but entering this game against the Sacramento Kings, Kevin Durant was looking like a true MVP, as he had not scored less than 26 points in a game all season long, becoming first player since Michael Jordan (1988-89) to begin a season with 13 straight 25-point games.

Durant showed up to play with 27 points and 6 assists, bringing him to 14 straight games with at least 25 points to begin the season, but the Nets got trounced and embarrassed by the Kings, losing 153-121 on national television.

The 153 points surrendered to the Kings was the most Sacramento has scored since relocating to California, as their franchise record for points in a game still stands at 165 points when they were the Cincinnati Royals in 1970.

Now 6-9 on the season, the Nets still find themselves in a decent position to turn things around, but the dark cloud hanging over this franchise continues to threaten their future and Kevin Durant is not happy with the way things have been going.

“Look at our starting lineup. Edmond Sumner, Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, [Nic] Claxton and me. It’s not disrespect, but what are you expecting from that group?” Durant said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “You expect us to win because I’m out there. So if you’re watching from that lens, you’re expecting us to play well because No. 7 is out there.”

Talking with Bleacher Report and TNT’s Chris Haynes following this 32-point loss to the Kings, Durant did not hold back on anything and he even talked about the events that transpired this past offseason in regards to him requesting a trade from Brooklyn.

“It wasn’t difficult at all to request a trade because it was about ball. I went to them and was like, ‘Yo, I don't like how we are preparing. I don't like shootarounds. I like practices. I need more. I want to work on more s--t. Hold me accountable. Get on my ass in film if that's going to help you get on everybody else’s head. I want to do more closeouts. I want to work on more shell drills at practice.’ This was the type of s--t I was coming at them with. It wasn't like, ‘Yo, y'all need to make sure everybody around me can make my life easier.’ Hell nah, I want to make everybody else’s life easier. Ask Steve Nash, you can go call him right now. I would say, ‘Yo, I need more closeout drills. We need to practice more.’ That’s what I was on.” - Kevin Durant to B/R’s Chris Haynes

Durant did go on to say that he is having fun “grinding” with this current team and new head coach Jacque Vaughn, but he did talk about the fact that people do not associate him with being a leader in the NBA, something that he does not understand.

No matter the situation, Kevin Durant has remained the same on- and off-the-court over the course of his now 16 years in the NBA and no matter what people say about him, he is always going to just be himself.

The trade request he had in the offseason kind of took a lot of people around the league by surprise at the time, but this request is beginning to make a lot more sense now.

Kevin Durant was not happy with the way things were going at practices, he was not happy with the way the team was responding to Steve Nash in the offseason, he was not happy with the lack of urgency the team had last season and on top of everything else, Durant always wants to win, something the Nets were not and are not doing.

Who knows what the future holds for one of the best scorers this league has ever seen, but if we know one thing about Durant and if there is one thing that we can take away from his interview with B/R, it is that he is going to continue giving it his all out on the floor and that he will do everything he can to try and bring his team to the top.

Whatever happens, happens and if things continue to trend in the wrong direction this season for the Nets, it should not come as a shock to anyone if Durant once again requests a trade next offseason.

The Fast Break Podcast hosted by our own Brett Siegel is now LIVE!

Be sure to catch up on the latest news and intel from around the league by checking out The Fast Break Podcast, now streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify with new episodes releasing every Friday.