The Kevin Durant era for the Brooklyn Nets was not the most fruitful of eras. The Nets made the move in the summer of 2019 to sign both him and Kyrie Irving as they hoped that the two superstars would lead them to their first championship in franchise history.
Instead, everything that could have gone wrong did. There were injuries, outside distractions, internal issues, and things just didn’t go Brooklyn’s way. All in all, those two, plus James Harden for a quick minute, only produced one playoff series win in 3.5 seasons.
Individually, Durant himself was brilliant in a Brooklyn uniform. He averaged 29.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists during his time with the Nets and he carried them to wins more often than not. It just wasn’t enough to get it done when it mattered most.
As Durant was introduced on Friday as a member of the Phoenix Suns, he was asked to wrap up his time in Brooklyn and he got emotional over it all:
It was a lot of ups and downs, but I loved the grind, and everybody in Brooklyn loved the grind, too so I built a family over there. They’re always gonna be a part of my journey. We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish as far as winning a championship, but I enjoy the grind. Everybody there, we tried our hardest every day regardless of what was going on in the media or what was going on with our teammates, everybody who was in that gym, we grinded. I love those guys. I get emotional talking about them because that was a special 4 years of my career coming off an Achilles. They helped me though a lot so I don’t have anything–So yeah, it was terrible how some stuff went down, but at the end of the day, I love the grind. We all love the grind there in Brooklyn and I wish them the best going forward. They got a bright future.
When asked why things didn’t work out with Irving and Harden, Durant stated:
We just didn’t get on the court enough. I think when you seen James, Kyrie, and myself it was amazing basketball for 17 games though, but in order for you to win a championship and be a great team, you just need more time on the floor. It’s another story about why we didn’t get on the floor together, but we just didn’t get enough time on the floor and those are Hall of Fame players that I learned a lot from every day and I’m wishing them the best as well. It just didn’t work out.
KD got noticeably choked up when speaking about his time in Brooklyn:
"I built a family over there. They're always gonna be a part of my journey… I love those guys. I get emotional talking about them because that was a special 4 years of my career coming off an Achilles. They… https://t.co/4ICpnqp1B1 pic.twitter.com/4lg22AhK1i
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 16, 2023
The Nets will now enter a new era of basketball led by Mikal Bridges, who had 45 points in Wednesday’s win over the Miami Heat as they hit the rest button.
As for Durant, he will look to make an impact on the Suns and hope to make things work with Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton.
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