Kevin Durant Says Kyrie Irving Trade Request from Nets Was 'Tough for Me to Stomach'

While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant opened up about the end of his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets, which was precipitated by Kyrie Irving's trade to the Dallas Mavericks.

Durant, who was sent to the Suns just a few days after Irving was shipped away, admitted that Irving's trade request was "tough for me to stomach" because he felt it was "a blow to our team" and "it took away our identity."

Durant and Irving joined the Nets together prior to the 2019-20 season, but their partnership didn't pan out the way they'd hoped. Despite the brilliance they displayed on the court together, they couldn't sustain a level of excellence for multiple reasons.

Durant has missed substantial time since tearing his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, including the entirety of their first year together. He's currently sidelined with a sprained MCL in his right knee, but he hopes to return at some point after the All-Star break.

Irving's time off the floor while he was with the Nets was mostly due to non-basketball reasons. He missed a large chunk of the 2021-22 campaign because of his refusal to adhere to New York City's vaccination mandates. He was suspended earlier this season for his failure to initially apologize and disavow antisemitism after promoting an antisemitic documentary on social media.

In all, Irving and Durant's time together in Brooklyn resulted in no trips to the conference finals and minimal regular-season success.

Durant spoke candidly on Thursday in his first meeting with the media since being acquired by Phoenix in a blockbuster deal prior to last Thursday's trade deadline. The 34-year-old got emotional when asked to sum up his time in Brooklyn, acknowledging that there were "ups and downs" but making it clear that he looks back on that part of his career fondly.

"I enjoy the grind, and everybody there, we tried our hardest every day regardless of what was going on in the media, what was going on with our teammates, everybody who was in that gym, we grinded," he said. "So I love those guys. I get emotional talking about it because that was a special four years of my career, coming off an Achilles [injury]. They helped me through a lot."