Nets Break Silence About Kevin Durant Trade

It's official.  

The Nets have traded cornerstone Kevin Durant and veteran wing T.J. Warren in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and draft compensation. The trade became official just after 6:00 p.m. ET. 

The draft compensation Brooklyn gathered in return was four first-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029), along with a pick swap in 2028 with Phoenix. The organization also collected in 2028 and 2029 from Milwaukee and the draft rights to guard Juan Pablo Vaulet from Indiana in the deal.  

The Nets' General Manager Sean Marks provided a statement in the press release, welcoming the two newest Nets along with talking about the direction of the franchise and thanking Durant for his time with the organization. 

“After thorough evaluation of the best path forward, we believe making this trade now positions the franchise for long-term success,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “Mikal and Cam are elite, ascending, versatile wings, plus the draft capital provides us additional avenues to continue to acquire talent. We remain steadfast in our commitment to building the team Brooklyn deserves. We are excited to welcome Mikal, Cam and their families to Brooklyn and thank Kevin for the moments and memories he delivered our fanbase.”

During head coach Jacque Vaughn's pregame media availability, the trade was not official so he did not speak on specific details. Although Vaughn did talk about after Kyrie Irving's decision to force his way out of the borough, he disclosed that he wants his players to continuing playing under the same expectations for the remainder of the season. 

“I think after I spoke after that I talked about the expectations not changing for the group. I’m gonna consistently continue to have that message. I think that’s how you prepare, that’s the appropriate fear of going into every single game. The expectations for this group won’t change in my mind," he said. "I cannot recollect whether for me personally that put a different way of how I approached the game after Kyrie’s announcement, but for me it was business as usual. I’m not gonna complicate this thing. I’m gonna coach every single day, coach the group that I have.”