Going into the 2021-22 NBA season, the question was, “Can anybody compete with the Brooklyn Nets?” They had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden with a solid supporting cast. They were the clear betting favorite going into the season, with no other team in the East particularly close. By the time the playoffs rolled around, Haden had forced his way to Philadelphia, and the 44-38 Nets were seventh in the East, getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Boston.
In recent days during public discussions, Durant and Kyrie Irving were re-litigating what went wrong in Brooklyn.
It started with Durant on the Mind the Game podcast with LeBron James and Steve Nash, the latter of whom was the coach of that Nets team.
“I feel like we [Durant, Nash] were locked in on the same page and understanding we’re trying to do something special here. And I feel like your hands were tied a lot because, as a coach, you had to deal with so much. I think we didn’t get the full Steve Nash like I wanted. Like you probably wanted…
“I enjoyed it. I enjoyed Brooklyn a lot. I loved playing for Brooklyn, but it’s just so much happened around the guys that were committed to the situation. I felt like we were committed but everybody else wasn’t. It was just weird.”
Irving, speaking on his Twitch channel, talked about how he waited for Durant to get healthy from his torn Achilles, and that the Nets cared way more about KD than they did Irving — and former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson caught a stray from Irving as well. Here is what Irving said about his relationship with the Nets:
“I wish that we got a chance to get to know them beforehand because they wasn’t f***ing with me like that… Kenny Atkinson wasn’t f***ing with me like that. The Nets didn’t want me like that. They wanted KD.”
Irving also said he was surprised by the Harden trade, which Harden himself had pushed for, and that getting Ben Simmons and his back issues as the return ultimately turned out to be a mess. (Harden took a lot of hits in the media and online at the time of that trade, but within a year, the pendulum had swung back and he looked like the guy who saw the writing on the wall and got out while he could.)
Irving, however, added he has no issue with Durant, Nash, or anybody else in Brooklyn.
“Me and KD are not beefing. I’m not beefing with Steve Nash. I’m not beefing with anybody, you guys. Alright? This is not personal against KD, and even when he tweeted back at me and he said he’s going to have the noti’s on, I appreciate that, you guys. I appreciate the engagement. I just want to tell KD I love him, you know what I’m saying?..
“It wasn’t perfect, but I can honestly say I took a chance on winning a championship with my best friend. We had an incredible time. I can honestly take accountability for my actions and say that I wasn’t always in the best space mentally, spiritually, physically, emotionally… So, let me get that disclaimer out … I’ve played with a lot of great players, but playing with KD, that was OD. He’s one of the best of all time. Obviously we all have our strengths and weaknesses… I’m doing my thing. He’s doing his thing. Let’s leave it there.”
The Brooklyn Nets organization is still climbing out of the hole of that era, starting to try to rebuild something. But that was a deep hole, and it’s going to take time.
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