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Kevin Durant disputed a fan’s claim he was the reason the Brooklyn Nets didn’t bring back Bruce Brown Jr. when he was a free agent last summer in a since-deleted tweet.
The topic came up when fans had this interaction on the social-media website following Brown’s 21-point effort for the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night:
Per Dan Benton of Larry Brown Sports, Durant sent out this tweet: “At some point, Nets Twitter has to stop making s–t up. . . I know, I know, I’m soft for this tweet. I’ll delete soon.”
The 13-time All-Star followed through on statement about deleting the tweet.
The rumor that a player for the Nets didn’t want them to re-sign Brown originated with Brown.
During a May 25 appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show (starts at 3:00 mark), the 26-year-old said he didn’t “think it was the Nets’ front office organization who made that decision” to let him walk “because from what I’ve heard, they wanted me back.”
Despite being asked to provide more details about what happened, Brown said he didn’t know who made the call not to bring him back.
There’s been no indication it was Durant outside of some angry Nets fans online. Durant’s tenure in Brooklyn didn’t end long after Brown’s, as he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in February.
Brown signed a two-year, $13.3 million deal with the Nuggets on July 7. His contract has turned out to be a huge bargain because of his ability to defend multiple positions and score at an efficient clip.
In 19 playoff games with the Nuggets, Brown is averaging 12.1 points on 53.1 percent shooting.
Brown’s success will likely allow him to cash in on a more lucrative contract this offseason if he opts out of his $6.8 million 2023-24 salary.
