When asked by Logan Murdock of The Ringer about what went wrong with the Brooklyn Nets, he said that it would be up to James Harden and Kyrie Irving to explain it. Durant signed an extension in the 2021 offseason and expected Harden and Irving to follow suit before the start of the 22-22 season. Both players eventually asked for trades from the Nets.

“You got to ask them, to be honest,” Durant said. “My job is to play, and I think I did that. Rehab, a lot of stuff was out of my control that I didn’t ... I can’t speak on, to be honest, but I just thought we didn’t play enough minutes together. That’s all.”

Durant was also asked about where his relationship with Irving stands now.

“That’s something I’m going to keep internal. I don’t want to expose our relationship,” Durant said. “I think that’s deeper than basketball, but I wouldn’t say it was a problem. I didn’t think it was a problem.”

The Brooklyn Nets have said that Cam Johnson was as big a part of their haul from the Kevin Durant trade with the Phoenix Suns, as were Mikal Bridges and all the draft picks. Now, the Nets are determined to keep Johnson in Brooklyn.

The Nets are sending signals that they intend to match any offers Johnson receives as a restricted free agent this summer. Because of is shooting, and ability to play 2-4, Johnson is an attractive target for teams with cap space in July.

In 25 games with Brooklyn, Johnson averaged 16.6 points on 47/37/85 shooting splits, to go along with 4.8 rebounds per game. Overall, in 42 games with the Nets and Suns, Johnson averaged a career-high 15.5 points on 47/40/84 shooting splits.

The Sacramento King's Game 2 win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night averaged 4.32 million viewers on TNT. 

The number represents a 34% increase from last year's Nuggets-Warriors series. Saturday's Game 1 matchup was a 38% increase from the previous year.

Game 2 of the Nets-Sixers on Monday's early slot averaged 3.0 million viewers, up 10% from the Raptors-Sixers last year. 

The Detroit Pistons have received permission to interview Brian Keefe for their head coaching job.

Keefe is currently an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.

Keefe has familiarity with Troy Weaver from his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Keefe has also been an assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward RaiQuan Gray to a two-way contract. Gray played in 30 games with the Long Island Nets of the G League this season.

Gray averaged 14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in his second season with Long Island. He improved drastically as a shooter this season too. The 6-foot-7 forward shot 41% as a rookie and 55% this season. He also improved from 18% on three-pointers last season to 30% this season.

The Brooklyn Nets have exercised the standard NBA contract conversion option for two-way guard David Duke Jr.

Duke Jr. (6'4", 207) originally signed as a free agent with the Nets on Aug. 8, 2021, and had his contract converted to a two-way deal on Oct. 16, 2021. He then re-signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn on Sept. 16, 2022. In 43 games (seven starts) over two NBA seasons, Duke Jr. holds career averages of 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game. The Providence, R.I., native has appeared in 21 games off the bench for Brooklyn this season and is averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per contest.

The 23-year-old has also played in 35 career regular season games (all starts) for Brooklyn's NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, posting averages of 20.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals in 32.5 minutes per game.