James Jones: 'Brooklyn wanted to keep Kevin Durant'

Why didn’t Kevin Durant end up in Phoenix? The two-time finals MVP demanded a trade out of Brooklyn, put the Miami Heat and Suns atop his trade wish list, but remains with the Nets. “’Cause Brooklyn wanted to keep Kevin Durant in Brooklyn,” Jones said. “And that’s why he’s in Brooklyn and not on some other team, but as far as with us, I get it. It’s always a great topic of discussion, but the one thing people forget is that when you’re talking about trades, or any player acquisition, the team that has the player has to be willing to move the player.”
Source: Arizona Republic

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“Yes.”
#Suns GM James Jones when asked can Phoenix win #NBA championship this season.
He said more than that in Part 2 of my Q&A with him. azcentral.com/story/sports/n… – 9:36 PM Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
KD on the sidelines at the Alabama-Texas game pic.twitter.com/MGrWv7FGN1 – 12:34 PM Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
“We’re having discussions. Cam is a big part of what we do. Really excited for the progress he’s shown over the last few years, especially last year. He’s primed to take some steps forward.” James Jones on Cam Johnson, who is up for rookie extension. #Suns https://t.co/yoLfOlceCk pic.twitter.com/b6HdVrgiVN – 8:27 AM Kevin Durant @KDTrey5
38 spesh one of them special ones. Gotta lock in – 1:26 AM Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
‘Brooklyn wanted to keep Kevin Durant’: #Suns GM James Jones on why Nets’ All-Star isn’t with Phoenix azcentral.com/story/sports/n… via @azcentral – 5:53 PM Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
I interviewed #Suns GM James Jones about several things starting with the obvious.
Why didn’t Kevin Durant end up in Phoenix?
He wanted out of Brooklyn.
The Suns were atop his wish list?
“Brooklyn wanted to keep Kevin Durant in Brooklyn.”
Part 1 incoming.
Part 2 tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/NkYaIERZPN – 5:49 PM CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Stephen Curry values 2022 title more than two he won with Kevin Durant: ‘Give me this one, all day every day’
cbssports.com/nba/news/steph… – 11:54 AM David Aldridge @davidaldridgedc
PMers: continuing my re-racking of my 1-30 NBA offseason rankings with the Middle 10 (20-11). The Nets move up into this section after their KD/Kyrie not-trade, plus the Knicks, Bulls, Clippers, Raptors and other adds from a busy summer, in @TheAthletic: bit.ly/3ev2p5R – 6:00 PM

More on this storyline

Q: How serious were the discussions for having Kevin possibly come to Phoenix? James Jones: “We had discussions with Brooklyn about their desires and what they were trying to do, but ultimately, I would say like most teams, there was nothing to it.” -via Arizona Republic / September 10, 2022 Q: When you say, nothing to it. Can you just expand on that because I’m trying to figure that out. What do you mean by that? James Jones: “Nothing to it. Not much discussion, in-depth discussion on it. I think every team in the league probably called them to check their temperature to see what it looked like, but as far as discussions and how deep they got? I just say there’s nothing to it.” -via Arizona Republic / September 10, 2022 Duane Rankin: “We had discussions with Brooklyn about their desires and what they were trying to do, but ultimately, I would say like most teams, there was nothing to it.” Explain? “Not much discussion, in-depth discussion.” James Jones on Kevin Durant talks. -via Twitter @DuaneRankin / September 10, 2022