The Brooklyn Nets made the two biggest moves of this year’s NBA Trade Deadline when they essentially dismantled their entire team.
Despite at one point looking like title contenders, Brooklyn dealt Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns and Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks.
The latter move, caused by Irving’s trade demand, led to the former occurring as well.
Durant has kept it relatively lowkey since the NBA Trade Deadline. He hasn’t said much about Irving or what happened with the Nets.
But this week, the former league MVP finally decided to open up about everything that transpired.
“It impacted what we did on the floor, no doubt about that, not tryna undercut that. That hurt, not finishing out the season. But I can separate what we do on the floor and who we are as human beings. I know you got your own situation that’s got nothing to do with what we doing.… https://t.co/tVZokyPZXk pic.twitter.com/DSi8yY6oMh
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 28, 2023
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t finish the season, but I also know that we’re all our own separate entities,” he said.
“We all move and do the things that we wanna do for our careers. I can’t fault somebody for doing that, even though it might have been at our expense as a team. But that’s who he is and that’s what he wanted to and I can’t have a problem with that.”
That said, while he clearly tried to maintain a level head about the situation, Durant was understandably bummed.
“I don’t wanna act like I wasn’t upset that we didn’t finish the season because I love playing with Kai,” he admitted.
“I wanted to see where we can go with that because we were both playing at a high level. … We haven’t had a conversation but eventually we will.”
Whether he is naming his favorite NBA teammate, the surprising legend he modeled his game after or picking the true GOAT between Michael Jordan and LeBron James, Durant tends to keep it pretty real.
So if he is saying what he is saying about the Nets breakup, he probably means it.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/B0Ipt9edU0
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 1, 2023
On paper, Durant and Irving had all the makings of one of the greatest duos in NBA history.
But games aren’t won on paper.
Will Durant and Irving go from being teammates at the beginning of the season to foes in the Western Conference playoffs this year? Time will tell.
Related: Luka Doncic’s Reaction To Latest Mavs Loss With Kyrie Irving
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
