New Mav Irving saw Brooklyn breakup coming ‘after Year 1’
The great superstar experiment in Brooklyn is over.
And if you listen to Kyrie Irving the breakup of the Nets was in the works “after Year 1.”
James Harden was the first to go. Then Irving (who was dealt to the Mavericks two days after asking for a trade). And now the stunning overnight trade that will send Kevin Durant to the Suns.
“I’m glad he got out of there,” Irving said of Durant after making his debut with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. “This was in the works after Year 1.”
Irving and Durant joined the Nets in June 2019 and then Harden joined the franchise in January 2021 with the expectation that the trio would create the NBA’s newest superteam and bring a championship — or championships — to Brooklyn.
The superteam never materialized as the Nets won just one playoff series.
“I was unsure about whether or not I wanted to be in Brooklyn again because of things that were happening behind the scenes,” Irving said after scoring 24 points in the Mavs’ 110-104 win over the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday night.
“I did my best to put my head down and work as hard as I could. There were some unfortunate circumstances that were out of my control, whether it be the mandate with the vaccine or missing games being suspended.
“Just little things that I think put wrenches in our journey. And we had James and we were supposed to be a super team. I would like to say something about the super team of me, James and KD that everyone thinks should have worked. We played very limited time together. There were a lot of injuries and things that took place, and I would have liked to see that work in the long term but there are no mistakes, no coincidences, and we’ve got to move forward.”
In the end, Irving and Durant played just 88 games together (54-34). And the Big 3 played just 16 games together before Harden forced his way out in February 2022 in a move that landed him in Philadelphia.
The package returning to the Nets in the reported Durant deal is Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks, as well as additional second-round draft pick compensation. The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m.
“I’m just praying for his happiness and praying for his well-being,” Irving continued.
“We had a lot of conversations throughout the year about what our futures were gonna look like. There was still a level of uncertainty, but we just cared about seeing each other be places where we can thrive, and whether that be together, whether that be apart, there’s never been one moment where I felt like he’s been angry at me for the decisions I’ve made, or I’ve been angry at him.
Durant, the two-time NBA champ and 13-time All-Star, has wanted out for some time. He asked for a trade in June before eventually backing off in August.
“We have agreed to move forward with our partnership,” Nets GM Sean Marks said at the time. “We are focusing on basketball with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn.”
Ultimately, Irving created more headaches than victories for the Nets. He played in just 143 of a possible 288 regular-season games with the Nets. He refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, was absent for two weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and served an eight-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team after posting an antisemitic film on his social media channels.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chose the Nets. Not the other way around.
It’s an important note to remember as we unpack the end of a not-quite era of championship contention in Brooklyn: The superstars chose to be here. Then they chose not to be.
James Harden, Irving and Durant each requested a trade from the Nets in a year’s time, in that order, culminating with Thursday’s seismic trade in the still of the night that sent Durant to Phoenix for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and a bevy of first-round picks.
Durant and Irving chose Brooklyn — just like they chose to leave within 48 hours of each other, a course of events with breadcrumbs dating back to the team’s handling of Irving’s decision against getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
It was the Nets, not Irving, who decided the star guard shouldn’t be around the team for road games or home practices up until the moment the virus ravaged the NBA, including 13 Nets players who were sent into the league’s health and safety protocols at the same time. Prior to that outbreak, the Nets played a hard line with the superstar, who was eligible for most road games and could have kept the team on a trajectory toward championship contention. But when the situation became too inconvenient, the team ultimately folded.
Irving exercised his personal right not to get vaccinated, and believed he was vilified by his own organization for the decision. In most other NBA markets, he would have been eligible to play in all games. It was
New York City’s vaccine mandate, which Mayor Adams refused to amend until pressure from Major League Baseball, that created havoc in Brooklyn.
That’s one of three examples, according to a source familiar with Irving’s thinking, of the “disrespect” the star guard described to Dallas media in his introductory press conference on Tuesday.
Irving was also put off by the wording in the statement the Nets issued when they suspended him a total of eight games for posting the link to a film widely considered antisemitic on his social media feeds.
The organization used the words “unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets” for a player whose talent transcended basketball. Irving has Jewish family members and claims to have posted the link in search of his own family history.