NBA Rumors: Insider Says Durant's Ultimatum Is Backfiring

The drama around Kevin Durant's trade request has ramped up this week, after Durant reportedly gave a shocking ultimatum to Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai to choose between him and the GM/head coach. But according to NBA Insider Brian Windhorst, if KD thinks this is going to help expedite a trade, he is mistaken. 

"As I've talked to teams around the league over the last 24 hours, they think, if anything, that this maybe restricts his opportunity to get traded in the short term," Windhorst told the panel on ESPN's NBA Today. "It's going to make it even harder for teams to want to meet the price."

And that's simply due to the fact that teams see this as extra pressure on the Nets, and will wait for them to lower their price to get a deal done.

The most curious thing about Durant's new request to have Steve Nash and Sean Marks fired is the timing of it.

"He asked for the trade on June 30th," points out Windhorst. "So to bring it up now, is an unusual move."

"If he wanted Steve Nash fired," added Front Office Insider Bobby Marks, "it would have been (right after they were eliminated in the playoffs), or a week later, not right now."

The final word for now goes to Windhorst: "It's very difficult for me to see how Durant thought this was going to work in his favor."

Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports