Adam Silver weighs in on the Kevin Durant trade request and ensuing mess

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made his feeling known about Kevin Durant’s trade request off the Brooklyn Nets.

Just before the start of the free agency period, Kevin Durant sent shockwaves throughout the NBA after he requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. The decision comes as he enters the first season of his four-year, $194.2 million contract extension with Brooklyn.

When asked about the topic at the NBA Summer League, Silver said the league doesn’t “like seeing players request trades.”

“Look, this needs to be a two-way street,” said Silver, h/t CBS Sports. Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players and the expectation is, in return, they will meet their end of the bargain. I’m realistic that there’s always conversations that are going to go on behind closed doors between players and their representatives and the teams. But we don’t like to see players requesting trades, and we don’t like to see it playing out the way it is.

Adam Silver not exactly pleased with Kevin Durant’s trade request

Silver continued, saying that that the league intends to discuss this topic during their next collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the Players Association.

“It’s one of those issues that as we move into this collective bargaining cycle, which we are just beginning now, we intend to discuss with our Players Association and see if there are remedies for this,” said Silver, h/t CBS Sports. “Again, as I said, it will never be the case when players won’t be unhappy in certain situations, but we don’t want to see it playing out the way it is now.”

The timing of the trade request by Durant came three years to the day when he agreed to sign with the Nets in the summer of 2019. Last year, Durant agreed and signed a four-year contract extension to keep him on the team until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

Teams like the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat were reportedly high on Durant’s preferred destinations list. Another team that was linked to Durant were the Toronto Raptors. Yet, as of this writing, no deal appears imminent. The Nets reportedly have a high asking price to willingly part ways with one of the best players in the game.

Whatever happens, Silver is not exactly pleased about Durant’s trade request.