“Now the question looms, will Kevin pout?” - Skip Bayless congratulates Joe Tsai for standing firm and not bowing down to player demands, believes the Brooklyn Nets can win it all next year
After an entire offseason of uncertainty, Kevin Durant is finally ready to return to the Brooklyn Nets. Analyst Skip Bayless went on to praise the efforts of team owner Joe Tsai for not bowing down to Durant's demands and convincing him to stay in Brooklyn.
Heading into free agency, Durant sent shockwaves through the basketball world with his formal request to be traded from the Nets. Teams from around the league lined up at the opportunity to acquire one of the best players in the league.
With four years remaining on his contract, the Nets remained calm with their aggressive asking price for the superstar forward. According to reports, Durant urged Tsai to either trade him away or dismiss coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks.
Tsai remained calm and handled the situation professionally. Now, it appears as if cooler heads have prevailed and Durant is ready to return to the team.
On "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," analyst Skip Bayless went on to congratulate Tsai and the Brooklyn front office for standing their ground. Bayless also questioned whether or not Durant will "pout," before eventually saying he believes the Nets forward is a hooper and will carry himself the right way.
"I'd like to congratulate Joe Tsai for standing strong against the onslaught of 'You have to move Kevin Durant.' Tsai is the first NBA owner to say no to a superstar. ... Now the question looms, will Kevin pout? Will his heart be in it?"
Bayless went a step further and called the Nets the best team in the NBA.
"Shannon, I keep telling you, I really like what the Nets have. I like how they improved their team with Royce O'Neale, T.J. Warren and bringing everybody back. I don't know what's not to like if Ben Simmons is obviously the huge X-factor here. Is he right physically and emotionally?
"I can't know that. But I think he's got a good chance of being. And if he is, on paper, this [Brooklyn Nets] is the best team in basketball. On paper, they should be favored as the way they were a year ago going into the previous season."
Breaking: Nets say KD is "moving forward" with Brooklyn after meeting with ownership
"I'd like to congratulate Joe Tsai for standing strong against the onslaught of 'You have to move Kevin Durant.' Tsai is the first NBA owner to say no to a superstar." — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/y9M2jLjFli
Kevin Durant set to return to the Brooklyn Nets
Basketball fans around the world were patiently waiting to see if superstar forward Kevin Durant would be traded this offseason. For now, it looks as if Durant is ready to return to Brooklyn after the team was unable to find an acceptable trade offer.
Durant will return to a Brooklyn team that has plenty of firepower and could quickly start making some noise in the Eastern Conference. After a 2021-22 season that featured plenty of dramatic storylines, the Brooklyn Nets will look to make a deep playoff run next time around.
The Kevin Durant trade discussions are over, the Nets say. He’s under contract for four years. twitter.com/brooklynnets/s…
With star teammate Kyrie Irving set to return, as well as the anticipated return of Ben Simmons, Brooklyn will be one of the teams to beat in the 2022-23 season.