NFL
By: Christopher Jordan
After all the talk about Kevin Durant requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets several weeks ago, Durant and the Brooklyn Nets have finally got on good terms, and Durant will remain a Brooklyn Net this upcoming season.
This summer has been a roller coaster for the Brooklyn Nets since their loss to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Brooklyn was the only team that was swept in the playoffs, having the best scoring duo in the NBA with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
For the past two seasons, the Nets have been one of the favorites to win the championship, but off-the-court antics with Kyrie Irving and the Nets have had some minor setbacks with injuries and with James Harden departing from Brooklyn.
One of the main reasons why Brooklyn entered the playoffs as the 8th seed this past playoff was because of Irving’s stance on not getting vaccinated and being a part-time player.
When Durant missed some time throughout the season because of injury the Nets went from the top seed in the Eastern Conference to fighting to make the play-in-tournament.
After losing to the Celtics and going into the off-season and free agency, the uncertainty of Kyrie Irving’s status with opting in or opting out and becoming a free agent. When Brooklyn decided not to give Irving a long-term contract because of all the shenanigans with not playing just because he didn’t feel like playing or missing most of the season due to not getting the vaccine and being a part-time player.
The loss to the Celtics had to affect Durant because he requested a trade from the Nets, and as soon as Durant requested a trade, Kyrie wanted out and wanted to become a Laker and reunite with LeBron.
Durant even had the teams that he wanted to be traded to and it seemed like Durant would eventually get his wish and be on his way out of Brooklyn. However, that was not the case for Durant. The Nets did not rush into trying to trade for Durant because when you have a player like Kevin Durant on the market you need to get equal value for him or as close as you can get.
The Brooklyn Nets stayed firm even when Durant called for Steve Nash and Sean Marks’ jobs. The Nets also knew that Durant owned their franchise because since Durant joined Brooklyn in the 2019 summer the Nets organization has done everything Durant and Irving have asked despite them saying that they didn’t need a head coach.
It seemed like Durant had finally accepted that he wasn’t going to be traded for he decided to resend his trade and make things right with the Nets franchise and join the team for another year and try to win a championship for the Nets.
Durant made the right decision to come back to the Nets because when you think about the roster and what they have around Durant and Kyrie and with the addition of Ben Simmons. The Nets also have a great supporting cast around the big three.
If everybody buys in and is on the same page this upcoming season the Nets have a great chance to win the title this upcoming season.
Although the Brooklyn Nets have a complete roster on paper, one thing the Nets have shown for the past three seasons is that they don’t have a true leader who holds everybody accountable on the team.
Durant and Irving have yet to show they can lead a team to a championship. Will this be the year that we see that from both players if not, this season will be a repeat season from last year?
