As the NBA world continues to digest today’s whirlwind of trade moves, the Brooklyn Nets are breathing a sigh of relief. After years of chaos and mayhem under the Durant/Irving regime, a sense of calm and peace washed over the organization after shipping off both of their star players in the span of a few days.
Kevin isn’t blameless in the fall of the Nets, of course, but Kyrie Irving is ultimately the catalyst that broke the team apart.
Speaking to the media after trading away both Kai and Durant, Nets GM Sean Marks made peace with his decision and looked back on where it all went wrong.
“I look back, and we’ve done a lot of thinking and soul searching on this and we say, ‘Well, you know, we did everything we possibly could to maximize this organization’s potential. To have ourselves in the competition for a championship… “I’ll be honest, last night I was sad. You do everything you possibly can to put together a team you can be proud of.”
He also took a subtle jab at Kyrie Irving, saying that he wants players who are “available” and give “consistent effort.”
“My goal here, and our goal is from ownership all the way down, is to put something out on the floor that everybody can be proud of, you can see consistent effort, you can see availability, and you can see competitive spirit.”
Sean Marks: “My goal here, and our goal is from from ownership all the way down, is to put something out on the floor that everybody can be proud of, you can see consistent effort, you can see availability, and you can see competitive spirit.”
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) February 10, 2023
The Nets did not handle their situation well, to say the least. At one point, they were home to three of the top superstars in the league, and now they don’t have anything but young players, picks, and a broken Ben Simmons to show for it.
What Went Wrong For The Brooklyn Nets?
Things got really ugly for Brooklyn last season when the vaccination controversy led to mistrust between Kyrie and the front office. But as Irving would later explain in his own words, things were happening behind the scenes much sooner than anyone recognized.
“This was in the works like after Year 1. I was unsure about whether I wanted to be in Brooklyn long-term again because of things that were happening behind the scenes,” said Irving. “I just did my best to put my head down and work as hard as I could. There were some unfortunate circumstances that came up there that were out of my control. Whether it be the mandate with the vaccine or missing games being suspended…or just little things that I think just put wrenches in our journey.”
The Brooklyn Nets will always be remembered as one of the greatest ‘what-if’ stories in NBA history. They had the talent to win multiple titles, and now all of that is washed away.
It’s a story of tragedy and disappointment and about how one man can stir up enough trouble to kill an entire franchise.
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