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Kevin Durant admits agent, family members want him to be a Knick during the 2019 FA
During the summer of 2019, superstar forward Kevin Durant shocked the world as he joined forces with Kyrie Irving and landed multi-year deals with the Brooklyn Nets as two of the market’s high-profile free agents.
While KD was fully convinced in his decision to continue his career as a Net after his glorious yet controversial run with the Golden State Warriors, his family and camp were meanwhile rooting for him to instead join Brooklyn's in-city rival.
NY campaigning for Brooklyn-bound KD
In a recent appearance on Boardroom Cover Story alongside his longtime agent and business partner Rich Kleiman, Durant didn't deny Kleiman’s desire to push him to sign with the New York Knicks in the 2019 free agency.
“Will you tell the camera and whatever Knicks fans will watch this that I wanted you to go to the Knicks,” Kleiman asked Durant.
“You definitely did. You definitely did more than anything,” Durant nodded as he further revealed that his both dad and aunt were also campaigning for him to join the Knickerbockers.
As it is, Durant's entry to Brooklyn formed lofty aspirations in the Nets World that the All-Star will ultimately lead them to the championship. But it turned out to be a roller coaster ride for them as the next three and a half years have been filled with drama, controversies, and competitive shortcomings. KD and Kai’s superteam partnership with James Harden has been short-lived and led to a disappointing downfall.
Winning matters for KD
KD further noted that his decision to represent the Nets came from his observation that the Knicks have been struggling. Approaching the 2019-20 season, New York has been the league's laughing stock and mismanaged fresh from the departures of their stars Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. They eventually didn't make it to the playoffs for the seventh straight year.
The Nets, meanwhile, are coming off to a promising playoff appearance led by D'Angelo Russell, who was sent to Golden State in a sign-and-trade agreement that completed Durant’s arrival in Brooklyn.
“The brand was cool, but at the time, you know, I’m not looking at the cool brand outside of the game,” Durant said. “I was looking at the team, and the [Knicks] was not cool to play for. The team was not cool to watch. It wasn’t a good team to watch. I might have embellished a little bit or lied a little bit about, like, the brand. I might have thrown the brand in there, too.
“But of course, the Knicks brand, like—living in New York made me truly realize how it’s the greatest city in the world.”
