"Ultimately, this comes down to Kyrie Irving and him playing half the games last year” - NBA analyst highlights what went wrong with the Brooklyn Nets
Kyrie Irving has been one of the most controversial players in the NBA in past few years. Last season, he refused to get vaccinated, which resulted in him missing more than 50 games.
His Brooklyn Nets were swept in the first round by the Boston Celtics, ending a very disappointing season.
Many NBA fans believed that the Irving drama was over when he opted into the final year of his contract without realizing that the team was falling apart. Kevin Durant now wants to leave the Nets and Kevin O'Connor believes it's all because of Irving's absence.
"Mistakes have been made by everybody, every step of the way, including the front office, the organization. But ultimately this comes down to Kyrie Irving and him playing half the games last year after not getting vaccinated."
The Nets will most likely lose both Durant and Irving this summer. Their era is over and it appears that they haven't gotten along as well as many fans believed.
Analyst believes Kyrie Irving is to blame for the situation in Brooklyn
Kevin O'Connor believes that everyone in the Brooklyn Nets deserves some part of the blame, from the front office to the players.
While the organization could have handled things better, Durant is also to blame for attaching himself to Kyrie Irving. Furthermore, the two-time NBA champion insisted on DeAndre Jordan getting a bigger role. That led to Jarrett Allen's trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Allen is now a $100 million player and his future with the Cavaliers is bright. The Nets' future, on the other hand, is not that bright.
"Ultimately, this comes down to Kyrie Irving and him playing half the games last year."
— @KevinOConnorNBA on the Brooklyn experiment gone wrong amid Kevin Durant requesting trade https://t.co/bLSTZOz1vj
O'Connor talked about Kyrie Irving's choice not to get vaccinated and how it ruined the chemistry the team had. He talked about the 2021 Nets who were a win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
"Obviously, that's his choice to do that, but it's detrimental to the team and the chemistry they had last year. One year after being so close against the Bucks."
O'Connor believes that Kevin Durant reached his breaking point, just like James Harden did earlier in the season.
What's next for the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving?
According to a report by Chris Haynes, the Brooklyn Nets are discussing a potential trade with the LA Lakers. The Lakers would receive Irving and Joe Harris, while the Nets would get Russell Westbrook and draft picks.
The teams are optimistic about this trade, even though the Lakers would prefer Seth Curry over Harris. Curry is on an expiring contract, but Harris is coming off ankle surgery and has two more years left on his deal.
The Lakers and the Nets are actively engaged in trade talks revolving around "a Russell Westbrook-Kyrie Irving package," per @ChrisBHaynes https://t.co/yKdFgpTh9Z
Haynes has also reported that the Nets are not in a hurry. If they decide to go into rebuilding mode, they will have to carefully plan their future.
Fortunately for the Nets, Kevin Durant's contract is one of their greatest assets. He has four more years left to play and Brooklyn could get many valuable draft picks in a trade for the superstar scorer.