Kevin Durant Responds to Kyrie Irving Saying He'll Address Nets Era on Live Stream
After Kevin Durant shared his experience with the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving appears ready to spill some tea on his tenure with the club from 2019 to '23.
Irving wrote on X he would address why things didn't work out with the Nets like anyone expected on an upcoming Twitch stream, which prompted this response from Durant:
Irving's comment was in response to a video of Durant's appearance on the Mind the Game podcast with his former Nets head coach Steve Nash and LeBron James.
Durant said on the episode he felt like the Nets "didn't get the full Steve Nash like I wanted" because there were "too many distractions" with other pieces of the organization that got in the way.
Durant and Irving signed with the Nets as a free agents in the summer of 2019. Durant didn't play in his first season with the club while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Nash was hired as Brooklyn's head coach in September 2020 in a surprise move because he had no prior coaching experience, then walked into what seemed like a great situation with two All-NBA-caliber players on his roster. They added a third in January 2021 when James Harden was acquired in a trade with the Houston Rockets.
Things went well initially, as the Nets earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference during the 2020-21 season. If Durant's toe wasn't on the three-point line at the end of regulation in Game 7 of the second round against the Milwaukee Bucks, maybe they go on to win the NBA title instead of losing that game in overtime.
It didn't take long after that for things to go downhill in Brooklyn. Irving was deemed ineligible to play by the organization at the start of the 2021-22 season over his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine, then he was brought back as a part-time player for road games outside of New York and Toronto when the team was shorthanded due to injuries.
Harden eventually grew frustrated with the Nets and requested a trade that resulted in him being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2022. The deal reunited him with former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who had been named Sixers president of basketball operations in November 2020.
After being swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, the already-leaky ship in Brooklyn completely sank. Irving was embroiled in a controversy for posting links on social media that contained a link to an antisemitic film.
Nash and the Nets agreed to a mutual parting of ways after a 2-5 start to the 2022-23 season.
The era officially came to an end in February 2023 when Irving and Durant were traded away within three days of each other. Irving was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks, followed by Durant being sent to the Phoenix Suns.
Brooklyn was swept in the playoffs more times (two) than it won postseason series (one) during the Durant-Irving era. Even though some of that is skewed because it includes the 2020 postseason when Durant didn't play, the main point is there was very little return on what initially seemed like a duo that would dominate the NBA for many years.
