Irving, Durant explain Brooklyn team-up
Decision ‘kind of happened organically’
It was after 4 a.m. on the first day of free agency when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant chose to become family.
Admittedly unaware of the roadblocks that could prevent their union with the Brooklyn Nets, Irving, Durant and DeAndre Jordan decided they would join the franchise in lockstep regardless of what sacrifices would be necessary.
“It was one of those things, kind of happened organically,” Durant said Friday at Nets media day.
Irving recounted the ups and downs of eight seasons in the NBA and believes the road travelled brought him home to New York and the Brooklyn Nets.
“First and foremost, I wanted to reach out to Brooklyn to let them know my interest is very high. And I had some pieces that I wanted to bring with me as well,” said Irving.
On his list of priorities in the off-season, Irving said he first had to acknowledge the steps it took to get to free agency. After starting his NBA career in Cleveland and being traded to the Boston Celtics, Irving wanted to understand where he’s been, but not let history force his decision. “Nine months ago ( before free agency) I was sitting in front of a Boston crowd saying I wanted to come back,” Irving said, adding he was side-swiped off the court by the death of his grandfather.
“Personal lives, seems like it’s not important, but it’s important to talk about the human being struggling as well. It was important to be honest about who I am, be honest with myself.”
Irving said his unique relationships across the league — with the Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie and two newcomers he helped recruit, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan — were a huge factor.
Irving believed in late June that Durant would join him in Brooklyn, but added “We had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t know the rules . ... It happened in the spur of the moment on that day.
“It’s 4:16 in the morning, morning of free agency, us just talking about our futures — the opportunity ahead of us and the investment we had in one another and the investment we had in Brooklyn,” Irving said of how the stars finally figured out their destiny.
Durant said they looked around that morning and asked: “Are we ready to do it? Everybody was like, yeah.”
Irving is ready to deflect any pressure that falls to Durant, who ruptured his Achilles in the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors, to get back on the court. The Nets don’t plan to play Durant in 2019-20.
“While he was injured, I made sure he knows he has our support 100 per cent. There isn’t going to be any pressure from any of us at any time to come back, and I’ll make sure of it,” Irving said, adding he felt the Warriors put “selling a product” ahead of Durant’s well-being.
“He wasn’t ready. Whether anyone wants to admit it. He was out 31 days.”