Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant played 129 games for the Brooklyn Nets over the course of three-plus seasons with the team. During that time, there was a lot of hype surrounding Brooklyn since they had a combination of superstars, Durant and Kyrie Irving, that could potentially win a championship. However, things did not work that way as the furthest the Nets made it in the playoffs was the 2021 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals before they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite the amount of belief in the team’s ability to win a title, especially after trading for James Harden on Feb. 10, 2022, the organization consistently performed below expectations. Not only that, but there was a good amount of drama surrounding the team as well from reports saying that Durant and Irving did not want to play for Kenny Atkinson (which possibly led to his firing) to Irving having his controversial views on certain topics.
Things came to pass on Feb. 6 when Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. That trade essentially changed the course of the Brooklyn franchise for years to come as Durant requested his own trade (for the second time) after Irving was traded and Durant was traded shortly after. When the trades happened, there was a lot of talk over why the Nets collapsed after so much promise. Durant spoke with Shams Charania of The Athletic to discuss the Irving trade and how Durant views the Nets after his trade: