Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are no longer members of the Brooklyn Nets, but they left a big mark on the team, although it was for bad reasons.
Nets insider Kristian Winfield recently claimed that these two were responsible for Steve Nash’s firing, as they played as badly as possible on purpose to get the head coach gone.
“The Nets didn’t fire Steve Nash after the sweep, right?” Winfield said. “They gave him another seven games to begin the season to try it. And you had guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie who were actively trying to get him fired by how they were playing. I watched Kyrie Irving shoot turnaround fadeaway 3s for the first time in my life — contested — in those first seven games — multiple. We knew those shots weren’t going in, right? I watched Kevin Durant get pissed off and slap the scorer’s table so hard in broad daylight.”
After the Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, the team didn’t look as good as they once did. Nash was fired seven games into the season, and Durant and Irving are considered key factors behind this decision.
The Nets then appointed Jacque Vaughn as interim head coach before removing the ‘interim’ tag and making him the permanent head coach. In the end, Durant and Irving didn’t last long, and both were traded ahead of the 2023 deadline.
These two were expected to bring championships to Brooklyn, but the reality was completely different. They couldn’t get past the second round of the playoffs, and the tensions in the locker room always took attention from the game.
The Brooklyn Nets Had A Nightmarish 2022-23 NBA Season
This season didn’t start the best way for the Nets, and the ending wasn’t any different. The Nets got rid of Durant and Irving and landed a couple of interesting pieces to compete.
They still made the playoffs but were swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. The Nets have renewed hopes for next season, but they need to make some moves to allow their best players to perform at their best level.
Damian Lillard has been mentioned as a potential trade target for them, but nothing is official at this moment.
