“He still wants to play alongside Kyrie despite issues” NBA analyst believes 2-time champion Kevin Durant has a hidden motive to play with Kyrie Irving
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
Aside from being close friends, most basketball fans are perplexed as to why Kevin Durant has continued to play alongside Kyrie Irving. KD essentially replaced Steph Curry’s prowess for Irving’s plethora of off-court concerns as his NBA co-superstar. On “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” The Ringer’s Wosny Lambre hypothesised on the underlying reason why Kevin Durant hasn’t given up on playing alongside Irving: “KD compares himself to LeBron a lot. A lot of his moves are based on something related to LeBron and how things have worked out for LeBron.
“So he’s like, ‘Look, LeBron made it work with Kyrie in 2016. It was great. I’m just as good if not better than LeBron. Get Kyrie on my team, watch me cook.’“I think that was his mentality about this. ‘This guy’s proven to be a championship-level player and teammate and second banana and LeBron proved it and I’m better than LeBron!’”
Kyrie Irving being a shadow of his former self
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As the Cleveland Cavaliers’ top player, Kyrie Irving was unable to even make the playoffs. He was, however, outstanding as LeBron James’ sidekick when James returned to Cleveland for a second spell .James made the most of his co-stars, as he has done for the majority of his career. He knew when to press and when to back off, allowing Kyrie Irving to develop his game.
They reached four consecutive NBA Finals, winning one in 2015 against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. However, after Kevin Durant departed Oklahoma to play for the Bay Area squad, James and Irving were unable to stop the might of the golden state warriors.
Kevin Durant opted to take on a new challenge with Kyrie Irving after never missing the NBA Finals in his three-year tenure with the Warriors. In the three years since they joined forces in Brooklyn, their lofty ambitions have taken one devastating knock after another. Despite their talent, they have only won one playoff series. Kevin Durant has failed to confront Irving’s numerous off-court concerns, which played a significant role in the team’s humiliating sweep of the Boston Celtics last season.
“I think it was just really heavy emotionally this season,” Nets guard Kyrie Irving expressed dismay after the team’s 116-112 loss in Game 4. “We were all aware of it. I felt like I was letting the squad down by being unable to play. We were exploring every possible role for me, but I never wanted it to be solely about me. And, at times, I believe it became a distraction. And, as you can see, there have been some significant changes.”
Kevin Durant back in the Nets camp
Kevin Durant has likely agreed to keep his four-year deal through the 2022-23 season. Unless the Brooklyn Nets extend his contract, Kyrie Irving will be in the final year of his contract. If no extension is provided to Kyrie Irving the upcoming season will be their final opportunity to silence their detractors.
The return of Joe Harris and the debut of Ben Simmons might supply some of the missing pieces that the Brooklyn Nets so needed last season. On paper, they should make some noise in the playoffs, however this performance has been seen before. Over the previous three years, the Brooklyn Nets have been strong title contenders, only to fall short when it mattered most.
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