All 76ers

76ers Rival: Nets' Coach Won’t Speculate on Kevin Durant’s Future

Jacque Vaughn isn't going to assume what's on Kevin Durant's mind regarding his future in Brooklyn.
Justin Grasso|
76ers Rival: Nets' Coach Won’t Speculate on Kevin Durant’s Future
76ers Rival: Nets' Coach Won’t Speculate on Kevin Durant’s Future

In this story:

Philadelphia 76ersBrooklyn Nets

Philadelphia 76ers’ division rival, the Brooklyn Nets, made another big move this season. After firing the head coach Steve Nash and promoting Jacque Vaughn to take over earlier in the year, the Nets also traded away their All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, in a deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

Once it became clear that Irving was on his way out, many wondered what would go on in the mind of Kevin Durant, who also requested a trade away from the Nets back in the summertime. If you ask Vaughn himself, the Brooklyn head coach won’t speculate on what his star player might be thinking.

“I'm not going to speculate and get in Kevin's mind at all,” Vaughn told reporters this week. “Not going to try to do that. I'm going to coach this group [and] look forward to coaching them.”

Over the summer, Durant formally requested a trade from Brooklyn, which had every team inquiring. As expected, the Nets weren’t going to deal away the star forward unless they received a historic return in exchange for the former MVP.

With the price tag set so high, interested teams were unwilling to match it. And in Brooklyn, time eventually healed all in that situation, as a sit-down with Nets officials and Durant led to an agreement that both parties would move forward without a trade.

But that was then, and this is now. So far, there hasn’t been a second trade request coming from Durant since Irving shocked everybody with his. While that could change before Thursday’s deadline, Brooklyn’s coach is only going to assume the All-Star is committed to the Nets while focusing on coaching the team through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

Published
Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

Share on XFollow @JGrasso_
Home/News