Do Nets view Kevin Durant talk with Joe Tsai as ‘part of the process?’

How bad was the London meeting between Kevin Durant and Joe Tsai on Saturday? It would appear not good since the headline out of the talks was that KD had issued an ultimatum: trade me or fire your GM and head coach.

But Ramona Shelburne on ESPN’s NBA Today has suggested that things may not be as they seem, that the Nets view the meeting as “part of the process.”

Here’s her full quote, talking with Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks:

“I just spoke to someone close to the situation,” said Shelburne, apparently referring to a Nets insider. “In the latest meeting between Durant and Joe Tsai in London last week, a lot more than Durant’s feelings about Steve Nash and Sean Marks was discussed and the Nets viewed the meeting as, quote, part of the process, unquote.

“It important, the source said, that Tsai hear Durant out and understand where Durant is coming from. Yes, Durant reiterated his request to be traded but this meeting was far more specific than the first meeting at the end of June and subsequent conversations Durant and his camp have had with Tsai.”

What’s new there? The big news is of course that the Nets regard the meeting as “part of a process,” suggesting that at least one side sees it as a negotiation. The other points are that the Nets now have more clarity on Durant’s position and that this is one of several discussions that the two sides have had since the original trade request on June 30.

In addition, the quote provided Shelburne appears to be the first comment from the Nets side of things in that she attributed the key quote to the “Nets view.” The original report on the meeting, posted by Shams Charania, was attributed only to “sources with direct knowledge of the meeting.” (Shams did note “the Nets have direct knowledge of the reasons behind Durant’s request.”)

Shelburne’s colleague Brian Windhorst and others had suggested in the past that the Nets did not have “100 percent clarity” on Durant’s reason for wanting out of Brooklyn.

Bobby Marks also implied that Durant has made a bit of a mess of the process.

“A year from now, Kevin Durant will look back on this situation and wish he had a do-over, not due to the fact that he asked to be traded — every player has a right to be traded — but how he has handled this situation as far as what has transpired the last couple of days,” said Marks. “This doesn’t force the issue. For Sean Marks or Steve Nash or Joe Tsai to say, ‘you know what, now we have to trade him and now we have to set up an artificial timeline.’ The offers are the offers!”

Meanwhile, Durant and James Harden continued to travel — and work out — in Europe.

The workout reportedly took place Tuesday night.