Kevin Durant made a power play and lost – an L for the player empowerment movement
To start the offseason, Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. It was a shockwave that traveled throughout the league and kind of put NBA free agency on pause for much of the summer. Though, the Nets were determined to either get a historic return for Durant (which they believed he was worth) or call his bluff.
Brooklyn did the latter and it resulted in Durant pulling the ultimate power move of telling the organization that they had to choose between him or the head coach (Steve Nash) and general manager (Sean Marks).
Nets owner Joe Tsai was in a tough position but managed to pull his way out of it by winning the power battle against Durant. The Nets didn’t fire Nash or Marks and Durant has reconciled and will rejoin the team when training camp begins.
Durant lost his power play and represents a loss for the player empowerment movement. It’s something to keep in mind when the next star player tries to use his power against management.