Kevin Durant Responds to Post Saying KD, Kyrie Choosing Nets Was Best Thing for Knicks

Hindsight is 20/20, and Brooklyn Nets fans surely have plenty of it when comparing the diverging paths of their team and the New York Knicks as the latter prepare for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Along those lines, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily took to social media Saturday and suggested the Knicks ended up better off in the long run that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joined the Nets instead of them ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

That elicited a response from Durant himself and a follow-up explanation from Puccio explaining his mindset:

Durant didn't stop there, saying the initial post was made because Puccio was "salty" and "jealous" of Knicks fans as their team enjoys more success than Brooklyn. The future Hall of Famer also said "exactly" in response to a post about how NBA fans often play the "blame game" online:

The conversation then continued between Durant and Puccio:

It seemed like the Nets were going to be the ones competing for titles when Durant and Irving joined the team ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. Even though the former missed his first season in Brooklyn as he recovered from an Achilles injury, it was still two of the best players in the league joining forces for a potential Eastern Conference contender.

Brooklyn then traded for James Harden during the 2020-21 season to create a Big Three.

However, the team never advanced past the second round of the playoffs while they were all together. Injuries, suspensions and more prevented them from developing full chemistry together, and that era of Nets basketball ended up being defined by disappointment and a failure to live up to championship expectations.

Given that backdrop, Durant also said "lessons were learned" during his time in Brooklyn in another response:

All three players are now on different teams, while the Knicks responded in the following years by building a roster that includes Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.

As a result, New York advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years and will take on the Indiana Pacers for the right to make the NBA Finals.

As for the Nets, they were 26-56 this season and are staring at a rebuilding process entering the offseason.