Report: Nets lower asking price in Kevin Durant trade talks

Kevin Durant‘s situation with the Nets has reached a stalemate, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports (hat tip to RealGM). On Monday’s episode of Get Up, Windhorst said the Nets haven’t lowered their asking price.

“There hasn’t been an urgency in trade talks,” he said. “There hasn’t been a change in strategy by the Brooklyn Nets.”

Other teams aren’t backing down, either, as they refuse to give up the assets the Nets want. Meanwhile, Durant is stuck since he signed a long-term extension.

“First off, the Nets do not have leverage in trade talks with other teams. They are not giving them the offers that they want,” Windhorst said. “They see no reason to increase them. So, they’re not making any progress there. Kevin Durant clearly does not have leverage with the Brooklyn Nets. He is asking for things: ‘Get me traded. Fire the coach. Fire the GM.’ He is being told no. So, when you have denied leverage, you have a stalemate.”

We have more Durant-related news:

• Durant labeled the notion of him retiring as “comical,” he tweeted. “I know most people will believe unnamed sources over me but if it’s anyone out there that’ll listen, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon,” he wrote.
• The tweet was a response to a Marc Stein Substack post in which Stein declared that a well-connected executive insisted last month that Durant was more apt to retire than play again for the Nets. Stein downplayed that comment but added that it’s quite possible Durant may refuse to report to training camp. According to Stein, many people around the league believe that if Durant hasn’t been traded when camps open, he’ll continue to cause a “ruckus” behind the scenes in order to force the Nets to lower their trade demands.
• Durant’s former teammate with the Warriors, Andre Iguodala, believes the two-time Finals MVP should withdraw his trade request, according to BasketNews.com. “I think he should stay in Brooklyn, it’s such a big market, it’s good for the game and just figure out how to make it work like everybody grow up and make it work,” Iguodala stated on the Point Forward podcast. “That’s how I feel about the situation.”