When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decided to take their talents to Brooklyn, it seemed as if the two would lead the Nets to the kind of success the franchise hadn’t had since the early 2000s, when Jason Kidd led them to two NBA Finals. This wasn’t the false dawn that was the 2013 offseason where they acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in a trade that eventually ended up being a disaster. No, this was Durant and Irving still very much in their prime, and success of some kind, at the very least, was a foregone conclusion.
What has ended up happening, however, is a disaster the likes of which the NBA hasn’t seen in a while. The Nets, in their attempts to keep Durant and Irving happy, agreed to all of their demands when it came to personnel, and the only thing it has netted them, is one playoff series win. Also despite all those attempts, KD isn’t happy with how things have gone down and reportedly issued an ultimatum to owner Joe Tsai, demanding that GM Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash be fired. As the drama continues to unfold, NBA analyst Mo Dakhil looked back at all the problems the two of them had caused in Brooklyn.
Signing DeAndre Jordan when they had Allen to appease Kyrie and KD, fire Atkinson because he wanted to play the better center, blessed the Nash hiring, blew it all up for Harden, then had to move him because of all the disfunction, and now issuing ultimatums. Just a complete mess pic.twitter.com/ZDfPICZufi
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) August 8, 2022
“This whole Nets saga is comical and should be a case study for other franchises. There were several chances for this to go right for them and for one reason or another it didn’t happen.”
“Signing DeAndre Jordan when they had Allen to appease Kyrie and KD, fire Atkinson because he wanted to play the better center, blessed the Nash hiring, blew it all up for Harden, then had to move him because of all the dysfunction, and now issuing ultimatums. Just a complete mess.”
They had promising big man Jarrett Allen on the roster but wanted their friend DeAndre Jordan to start instead, a decision that coach Kenny Atkinson was against, which led to him stepping down. The two then played a part in hiring Nash, only to now turn on him, and, of course, pushed for the James Harden trade, only for Harden to want out thanks to all the drama they played a role in creating.
The whole thing has been a complete mess, as Dakhil points out. Not a single move that was done based on the wishes of their two superstars has panned out, and it’s not a surprise that Joe Tsai has finally had enough. He is siding with Nash and Marks over Durant, and it may seem ridiculous on paper, but when you consider the entirety of the situation, it is understandable.
