The Brooklyn Nets have officially begun their rebuild after trading Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, and Kyrie Irving had an interesting reaction to the move.
Durant was traded to the Suns on Wednesday in a blockbuster deal. Brooklyn’s decision to part ways with him came just days after they sent Irving to the Dallas Mavericks.
Irving scored 24 points in his Mavericks debut on Wednesday night. The first question he was asked after his new team’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers was about Durant being traded to Phoenix. Irving wanted to first talk about Dallas’ win, but he eventually said he is “glad” Durant got out of Brooklyn.
“This business changes so quickly. He’s getting a little bit older, I’m getting a little bit older. I love the competition now that we can be in the same conference, and I welcome all that,” Irving said. “I’ll get to see him a little more probably playing against Phoenix a lot more. That’s what I’m looking forward to. Everything else and in between, I’m just glad he got out of there.”
That last part is noteworthy. By saying he is happy for Durant that K.D. got out of Brooklyn, Irving seemed to be implying that the Nets were somehow at fault for the way things turned out. Most people would argue that Irving’s antics are the biggest reason the Nets failed to live up to expectations over the past three-plus seasons.
Irving then went on to note how the so-called “superteam” of him, Durant and James Harden did not get to play together much.
“I would like to say something about this superteam of me, James and KD that everybody thinks should have worked. We played very limited time together,” Irving added. “There were a lot of injuries and things that took place. I would have liked to see that work for the long term, but there are no mistakes or coincidences. You have to move forward.”
You can hear more of Irving’s comments below:
“I’m just glad he got out of there.”
KYRIE IRVING talks about Kevin Durant being traded to the Suns & the "Superteam" of him, KD & Harden after his Mavs debut (24 PTS, 5 AST)pic.twitter.com/W1FjEd5C9P
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 9, 2023
Irving is right that injuries played a role in Brooklyn’s struggles, but he has repeatedly refused to hold himself accountable for the negative impact his selfish antics had not only on the Nets but also in Boston, where he played for two seasons before joining Durant with the Nets.
Between his comments on the Durant trade and the unbelievable quotes he delivered this week about his time in Brooklyn, Irving continues to show he is detached from reality.
