Kevin Durant sat down for a one-on-one talk with Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes to talk about his trade request from the summer and the state of the Nets, and told Haynes that the desire to be traded came down to how the organization was operating, and the lack of intensity and accountability.
"It wasn't difficult at all to request a trade because it was about ball," Durant told Haynes. "I went to them and was like, 'Yo, I don't like how we are preparing. I don't like shootarounds. I like practices. I need more.
I want to work on more s--t. Hold me accountable. Get on my ass in film if that's going to help you get on everybody else's head. I want to do more closeouts. I want to work on more shell drills at practice.'
"This was the type of s--t I was coming at them with. It wasn't like, 'Yo, y'all need to make sure everybody around me can make my life easier.' Hell nah, I want to make everybody else's life easier. Ask Steve Nash, you can go call him right now. I would say, 'Yo, I need more closeout drills. We need to practice more.' That's what I was on. I wasn't feeling that, and nobody was on that same vibe with me. Jacque Vaughn is. I had some complaints in the summer, and my complaints were not about just me; it was about how we are moving as a unit. I want us to be respected out here in the basketball world."
But, while talking about being respected in the NBA, Durant didn't seem to give much respect to his teammates when talking about Brooklyn's current group.
"Look at our starting lineup," Durant said. "Edmond Sumner, Royce O'Neale, Joe Harris, [Nic] Claxton and me. It's not disrespect, but what are you expecting from that group? You expect us to win because I'm out there. So if you're watching from that lens, you're expecting us to play well because No.
7 is out there."
Still, Durant seemed to speak much more highly of how things are running now under Jacque Vaughn than compared to when he requested to be traded, despite his comments about his current fellow starters.
"I didn't feel like we had those things last year like good preparation, great energy to start real team chemistry, and I feel like we're building that right now," Durant said. "We got some guys in and out the lineup, but I think guys have been figuring out their roles within that.
"It's been fun grinding with these dudes. It's been fun grinding with Jacque. It's been fun trying to leverage myself to help everybody else get better. I'm learning the game more and seeing all types of crazy defenses every night. I never know how a team is going to guard me. This is all helping me mentally as a player to see things a little slower, playing a little slower."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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