"Shooting 3s, everybody is dancing": Jarrett Allen opens up on Nets stint alongside Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving
Jarrett Allen spent the first three and a half seasons of his career with the Brooklyn Nets, where he made a name for himself as a force on both ends of the court. His time with the team coincided with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joining forces on the Nets. Although Jarrett Allen and the star-studded roster were expected to yield big results, the team wound up becoming one of the biggest "what ifs".
In addition to Kyrie Irving notably missing time because of vaccination mandates in New York at the time, the team also dealt with injuries. The timing of Durant and Irving's stints on the court when they were healthy didn't line up, resulting in a number of years that saw the team underperform.
While the consensus seems to be that if the duo had been able to spend more time on the court together they could have potentially found success, that wasn't the case. Now, a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jarrett Allen has opened up on his time in Brooklyn during a recent episode of The Old Man & The Three.
"Honestly my second year there, we just had this vibe about us, I mean we are just going out playing having fun. I mean there is this clip of us just shooting 3s, everybody is dancing on the sideline.We are having the time of our lives. Were we the best team? No, but we were enjoying ourselves, playing hard and winning."
Kevin Durant has no plans to waste time on "what ifs" regarding time in Brooklyn with Jarrett Allen & Kyrie Irving
While many members of the NBA community have continued to wonder how things could have played out differently in Brooklyn, Kevin Durant is ready to move on. His time in Brooklyn began with an injury that saw him miss the entirety of the 2019-20 season.
After a sign-and-trade landed him in Brooklyn, he missed his first season with the team after tearing his Achilles in Golden State. That season, Kyrie Irving also notably wound up playing only 20 games after undergoing season-ending surgery on his shoulder in February.
The following season, Irving managed to suit up for 54 games, however, it was Kevin Durant who was still working his way back to form, playing in just 35 games. Despite making it to the postseason, and eliminating the Boston Celtics in the first round, the team was then eliminated in the Conference Semifinals.
The following year, it was Kyrie Irving who notably missed significant time with COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in him playing in just 29 games. That season also notably saw the Nets eliminated in the first round, where the Boston Celtics got their revenge.
Although many have questioned how the years in Brooklyn could have played out differently, Kevin Durant is focused on the future. As he indicated to media members last month, it's a quote, "pointless exercise" to play the game of "what if".
Now, of course, Jarrett Allen is contributing valuable minutes in Cleveland, while Durant is playing in Phoenix alongside Devin Booker. At the same time, Kyrie Irving is playing alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas. While Jarrett Allen believes that the vibes were there in Brooklyn, some things just aren't meant to be.