Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving discuss what went wrong in Brooklyn
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 think we didn't get the full Steve Nash like I wanted."@KDTrey5 explains why Brooklyn didn't workout the way it should've and more on Part 2 of a new episode. Watch on our YouTube, @PrimeVideo or listen wherever you get your podcasts https://t.co/n2swVHpna1 pic.twitter.com/Xl5Ne4MsAt
'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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Damian Lillard talks time in Milwaukee, return home to Portland
Damian Lillard was always going to retire and enter the Hall of Fame as a Portland Trail Blazer, but his return to the city ended up happening much sooner than expected. After Lillard tore his Achilles in an April playoff game, and with rumors of Giannis Antetokounmpo's frustration growing, Milwaukee shocked the league by agreeing to waive and stretch Lillard, buying him out and making him a free agent. That cleared his path to a return to Portland. In recent interviews, Lillard spoke about all of it. When discussing his tenure with the Bucks, injuries were the main topic — Antetokounmpo missing Lillard's first playoffs with the team, then this year with his Achilles — with Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I think you gotta be a little bit lucky to win big. You gotta be healthy and you gotta be playing your best at the right time and I think we just had bad luck." He also talked about loving the experience of playing alongside Antetokounmpo, despite some criticism of his production and play. "But I think Giannis and I, we was the highest-scoring duo during that time. We won a [NBA] Cup. I think a lot of people for me personally was like, we want to see Dame do this and Dame do that, but I'm playing with a 30-plus point per game scorer, a guy who plays with the ball in his hands the same way I've done my whole career. He's aggressive and attacking and I still managed to score 25 points per game and seven assists over my two years pretty much. So I think it's kind of unfair how people was like Dame (isn't the same) because of the way I played in Portland. I had the ball all the time, so it just looked different. But I think for how productive I actually was I think it's been viewed unfairly." Now, Lillard is just happy to be home, as he told Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press. "Just knowing that I'm going to be back home for all parts of my life, with my kids, playing for the Trail Blazers, driving on the same streets that I've driven on pretty much my entire adulthood, my whole family being here, my mom, my brother, my sisters, all my friends around the city of Portland," he said. "All of those things count. I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon." It did. He is going to spend this season more as an assistant coach working with young guards like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara. He will join them in the rotation in a year. For now, he's just happy to be home.
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Carmelo Anthony on what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's ring means to mid-range truthers
Watching the Oklahoma City Thunder complete one of the greatest seasons ever with an NBA championship, Carmelo Anthony and DeMar DeRozan were secretly rooting for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win a ring to push their agendas. For years now, Anthony and DeRozan have seen the mid-range jumper on the brink of extinction. It's an endangered shot attempt. Most front offices are analytically savvy enough to understand it's a bad shot for most of the league. Instead, volume increases on layups and 3-pointers have taken over the NBA. But there are always exceptions to the rules. The three players above fit in that category for mid-range jumpers. Gilgeous-Alexander had one of the greatest individual seasons ever because of his mid-range jumper. The MVP, Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP brought home a scoring title because of his heavy within-the-perimeter scoring attack. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points on 51.9% shooting. It was his third straight superb-efficient 30-plus point campaign. What makes it even more impressive is how he got to those numbers. If you look at his shot chart, it's all drives to the basket and mid-range jumpers. His outside shot has always looked pedestrian, but that's irrelevant for the NBA's best shot-creator. Anthony sees the value in that. He feels vindicated for vouching for the mid-range jumper his entire life after carving out a Hall of Fame career out of taking those types of shots to be known as one of the greatest scorers of his era. He talked about Gilgeous-Alexander's championship and what it means for mid-range truthers on his "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast. "Any championship team, they win the game in the mid-range. I don't give a f--- who it is. I don't care how many threes you shoot. When it comes down to it, you have to get a bucket," Anthony said. "Your three ain't always going to be there. You ain't always going to be able to get to the rack. If you have a middy, you're dangerous. Shai is dangerous because he plays for taking the best shot." Anthony argued that the mid-range jumper is the most reliable shot to take. The outside shot is naturally volatile and defenses can eliminate driving lanes to the basket with either active perimeter defenders that stay in front of you or gigantic rim-protectors who will go up and contest your shot. "It ain't about numbers or shooting the trey. It's about taking the best shot. If you back off, I'm pulling. If I'm in the paint, I get here and this shot is wide open, I'm taking this shot," Anthony said. "And just so happened, he started to master that mid-range when it comes to using his body, knowing his space, knowing where to get at, knowing angles. He's playing off of angles." Anthony then discussed the science of the mid-range jumper. He broke down how relevant geometry is to hunting out mid-range shots. It's always fascinating to hear an expert break down what they know best in their field. For Anthony, it's the art of taking a contested jumper. "The middy is all about angles," Anthony said. "If I get this angle and I get this shoulder on it, there's nothing you can do about it. If you bite back, I'm gonna shot fake and you're done." While the rest of the NBA has taken a layups-or-3-pointers approach, Gilgeous-Alexander has zagged with the mid-range jumper. Being able to knock down tough shots despite defenders all over him is what's separated him from being a good scorer to one of the best all-time players. Now, it's won him an NBA championship with plenty more room to grow.
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Stephen Curry once tried to get in Kobe Bryant's head as a rookie
The late Kobe Bryant wasn't just one of the greatest players and winners in NBA history — he was also one of the most mentally tough individuals to ever play any sport. There were plenty of people who tried to distract, intimidate or break the Los Angeles Lakers legend. But Bryant always managed to withstand them and remain in one piece while continuing to do his thing. When Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was a rookie during the 2009-10 season, he tried to gently get in Bryant's head when the latter was shooting free throws. But by his own admission, it didn't work (h/t Ahn Fire Digital). 'It was a game at home at Oracle, and they were winning, and I think they were up like six or something like that down the stretch, and we were starting to do the foul game,' Curry said. 'And when he was going to the line, I just walked by and was like, 'Yo, you nervous?' 'And the look he gave me was one I will just, is burned into my, like, 'One, he's a rookie talking to me, but two, am I nervous? What are you talking about?' 'I low-key expected him to do the [Michael] Jordan thing and walk up there and shoot them…eyes closed and then look at me, like, '[Dikembe] Mutombo, this is for you.' I think that's what Jordan said. 'But the look he gave me said it all. It was like, 'Yo, you just got here. Relax.'' Curry said that Bryant made those free throws he was referring to. Back then, Bryant was still arguably the best player in basketball, and he was still in the process of collecting championship rings. That year, he won his final and quite possibly his most satisfying world title when the Lakers outlasted the Boston Celtics in seven games during the NBA Finals. That was also the same season when Matt Barnes tried to fake an inbound pass in Bryant's face, but Bryant didn't flinch. Barnes would join the Lakers the following season with Bryant's full approval.
