Kevin Durant's Agent Talks Kendrick Perkins Feud, Picking Nets over Knicks in FA

On the heels of Kevin Durant's argument on social media with Kendrick Perkins on Thursday, the agent for the two-time NBA Finals MVP has chimed in to support his client. 

Appearing on The Michael Kay Show (h/t Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News), Rich Kleiman explained why Durant's decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016 brought about more pressure:

"That's the irony for me the decision to play for the Warriors. To me that was as pressure-filled as possible. Nothing about playing for that team — which was incredible — made him Kevin Durant or allowed him to be a championship-caliber player or allowed him to be a MVP-caliber player. He was that already. He went into a situation where unanimously everybody hated him and unanimously everybody questioned it. And he had to go in there and he had to finish his breakfast. He couldn't go there and do anything but win a championship. …That's the pressure. What pressure in New York could've been more than that?"

Perkins opened the door for debate when he tweeted that Russell Westbrook is the greatest player in the history of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant later criticized Perkins for his lack of production with the Thunder:

"

That’s fine!!! You worked that hard and still had to go join a 73-9 team. Truth be told you don’t even feel like a real Champ, you have hard time sleeping at night huh knowing that you took the coward way out!!!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 10, 2020"

While Durant continues to take heat for joining the Warriors, Kleiman explained the superstar's thought process about picking the Brooklyn Nets over the New York Knicks in free agency last summer. 

"Kyrie (Irving) played a part in that they're friends and communicated. I think ultimately if it wasn't the right decision for any of one of them individually they weren't going to go somewhere because of the other person," Kleiman said. "I think that all of these things play a part in a decision. There is no one thing."

The Knicks had hoped to hit big on the free-agent market. Owner James Dolan told The Michael Kay Show (h/t The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov) last March the summer of 2019 would be a “game-changer" for the franchise. 

The Knicks had to settle for signing a number of veteran players on short-term deals, like Julius Randle, Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson. 

Brooklyn hasn't taken off with a 17-20 record and ended a seven-game losing streak on Friday with a 110-107 win against the Miami Heat. Durant isn't expected to play until next season as he continues to rehab from a ruptured Achilles suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

If Durant can lead the Nets to a title, it could quiet some of the discussion about him selling out to win two championships with a Warriors team that was already loaded with talent before he arrived.