"You failed me as a friend, as a teammate, as a brother" - Kenyon Martin says if he was Kevin Durant he would’ve had major issues with Kyrie Irving, says KD picked the wrong situation
Kevin Durant teaming up with Kyrie Irving was expected to be a franchise-altering move for the Brooklyn Nets. The last three seasons have been far from satisfactory – with the Nets going through a turbulent phase.
Former New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks forward Kenyon Martin gave his take on the Durant–Irving partnership. He termed it a decision that hurt Kevin Durant’s chances to stay at the top.
"I would have had a major, major issue with Kyrie Irving if I was Kevin Durant"
Former Nets Power Forward Kenyon Martin Sr tells @EvCoRadio and @DarthAmin why there should be major changes in Brooklyn
#NetsWorld https://t.co/BRS5cZ0JaL
A season after losing a well-fought playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets had to grapple with Kyrie Irving’s unwillingness to follow the vaccination mandate, which sidelined him for a major chunk of the 2021-22 season.
Kenyon Martin told "SiriusXMNBA" that Kevin Durant was betrayed by Kyrie Irving after the two decided to join forces in Brooklyn:
“I would have had a major, major issue with Kyrie Irving if I was Kevin Durant. I could have went anywhere else and picked anyone else to play with. But we made the decision together to come here and do this. And this season, you failed me as a friend, as a teammate, as a brother, as a competitor. All of those things you failed me at.”
Kevin Durant won two championships with the Golden State Warriors. However, after winning the second title, Durant left the Golden State Warriors, due to a fallout with Draymond Green and joined New York.
es.pn/3KkUdiI
How much power do Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have in Brooklyn?
@WindhorstESPN looks at who's in the driver's seat of the Nets (@espnplus) 🔗 es.pn/3KkUdiI https://t.co/nFPfDieERu
Martin also said that Durant’s decision of choosing to play with Irving was a wrong one:
“And I think he did pick the wrong situation, especially from where he came from. He could have stayed in Golden State, they could have ironed out their differences. They could have ran the league for the foreseeable future. But he made the decision to come and play with Kyrie.”
Should Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving part ways?
The Brooklyn Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics in round one of the 2022 playoffs, which wasn't predicted.
Kevin Durant was the primary target of the Celtics’ defense throughout the series, forcing him off the ball successfully. Barring Game 1, Irving proved to be ineffective as well, limiting the team’s offensive options.
While Durant and Irving suggested they would use the sweep as motivation to get better, Kenyon Martin feels Durant should consider parting ways with Irving.
James Harden requested a trade away from Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Nets to join Joel Embiid and the Sixers.
A few months later, Harden is moving on to the second round and KD/Kyrie are in Cancun 👀 https://t.co/U1omTYZ5lc
Martin feels Kyrie Irving's decisions this season were unacceptable:
“We signed up for this together. So, you say you give a voice to the voiceless. Okay cool, what about us? What about these people, what about these guys that you have to compete with, who you signed up to do this with? Are we just supposed to sit back and accept this? Nah, that was unacceptable to me.”
The season ending early for the Brooklyn Nets also means their offseason has started early. The management will have some tough decisions to make in the summer, after failing to deliver with a star-studded roster in three seasons.
The trade market over the last few years is also proof that players these days don’t like to dwell around a failed experiment for too long. Durant and Irving, though, could still continue to be the team’s “Big Two”, a major revamp before the next season could happen.