Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant joined the Brooklyn Nets together in 2019, and the plan was to try and compete for championships for a solid few years together. They even got James Harden to come and join them briefly and it looked like the Nets would be the team that would pose the biggest threat to the NBA championship for many years to come.
Things didn’t turn out like that though, Irving’s refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine became an issue, injuries plagued Durant and Harden, and eventually, the Beard ended up being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. And things have only gotten worse since Kyrie Irving looks like he might be leaving too, and if he does, then there are no guarantees that Kevin Durant himself will stay.
This has mostly come as something of a shock to Nets fans since Irving has maintained for a while now that he won’t be leaving the franchise anytime soon. He spoke in march about the fact that there was no way he would leave the franchise, and the video of that interview drew the eyes of NBA fans on Reddit.
Interviewer: “Does that mean you’re re-signing in the summer?”
Kyrie Irving: “Oh shoot, yeah. I gotta be aware of these mics. You know, I think for me, it’s always been about being comfortable and loving where I’m at, and I love it here. And you know, once that summertime hits, I know there’s gotta be some conversations, but there’s no way I can leave my man, 7 (Kevin Durant). As we build… this is a recipe for success.”
These words haven’t aged well at all, even because they were said just about 3 months ago. Irving appears to be closer and closer to the door, and the Nets are in a situation that could see them end up starting next season with just Ben Simmons as the star power on their roster. Anything could happen yet, but Irving has once again fallen short of what he said at an earlier point in time.
