The Brooklyn Nets allowed Kyrie Irving to be a part-time player. They dealt with his off-court antics even before the vaccination saga, and they paid Kevin Durant an entire year’s worth of salary and rehab while he nursed a major injury.
The Nets also traded away their young, up-and-coming core thathad just made the playoffs. They fired their beloved coach Kenny Atkinson because they weren’t fond of him, and they signed washed DeAndre Jordan to a massive contract because he was friends with them.
Three years went by, and all the Nets have to show up for that is two failed playoff trips, never-ending drama, no draft assets whatsoever, and Ben Simmons, who may or may not be able or willing to play at all.
NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant And Kyrie Irving Have Been Mad At The Brooklyn Nets For Months
But even though Kyrie and Durant did virtually everything they wanted, a report by Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson reveals that they still held grudges towards the organization. Apparently, they didn’t care for the fact that they were hesitant to bring back Kyrie and that they let some of their close acquaintances go:
(Transcript via Heavy)
“Just in conversation with people who know best, I will tell you that they were pretty annoyed with the Nets and just how things were handled, whether it was opt-in, opt-out and all of the things considered. And there are some people that are very disgruntled with how they’ve handled him specifically because he is the person who really got Kevin Durant to join the Brooklyn Nets with him, a guy from West Orange, New Jersey, a stone’s throw from Manhattan, not too far from Brooklyn.
I know that someone who is tied to Eli Carter, a guy that knows Kyrie well, was let go because of the whole vaccination portion of it. And then I’m told [he] was promised that he could resume his assistant coaching situation, once the mandates were what they were in New York City. No such dice. In addition to that Kevin Durant’s shooting coach Adam Harrington was let go from the Brooklyn Nets. And I know that those two gentlemen are upset about how that was handled.”
So, in hindsight, KD and Kyrie wanted the Nets to blindly trust them regardless of the consistent evidence that Irving couldn’t be trusted. They also wanted them to hire their friends even though they had a pretty decent coaching staff.
The Nets met 99% of their requirements, and the players didn’t deliver. Now, they’re keeping the franchise in a chokehold as they look to tantrum their way into another team. That’s going to be a point of emphasis in the new CBA, you better believe.