Kevin Durant Rejects The Notion That Him And Kyrie Irving Made Million Dollar Worth Decisions With Joe Tsai On The Nets

A superteam collapsed, and years later, the blame game hasn’t stopped. The Brooklyn Nets, once stacked with generational talents in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and later James Harden, failed to deliver even a Conference Finals appearance. On paper, they were unstoppable. In reality, the team imploded before it could build anything meaningful.

Much of the scrutiny still falls on KD and Kyrie. Fans continue to argue over how much power they really had behind the scenes. Both stars arrived in Brooklyn in 2019. Durant orchestrated the move from Golden State as he wanted to build something special there.

That was a decision that shifted the league and raised expectations sky-high. The front office did include them in discussions. Durant and Irving reportedly had a say in roster moves. The Harden trade was the biggest of them all, and there’s no denying the stars supported it. But ultimately, it was owner Joe Tsai and GM Sean Marks who had the final call.

A few days ago, KD sparked several discussions when he posted, “Tanking must be really stressful on a organization,” on X. A fan, Garret Stallard, responded to KD, taking shots at him for the Nets’ failure. The fan said that it’s almost as stressful as a superteam of “divas” to not get along, miss the playoffs, demand a trade, and leave the “organization in ruin after you took money from them and the fans.”

That was a huge accusation, and KD, who is always interacting with fans online, wasn’t going to let it go without addressing. He wrote, “Garret, I supported decisions, didn’t make them.. it’s a difference.” KD didn’t completely deny his involvement, he just outlined that he wasn’t the one calling the shots, he was simply there to support the decisions made by the front office.

As strong as the Nets were on paper, the results were disastrous. From 2019 to 2023, they got swept in the first round thrice. In the 2020-21 season, they did manage to get past the Celtics in the first round, only to lose to the Bucks in the ECSF in seven games. An unlucky loss, yes, given that Irving was out injured and Durant’s shoe size disqualified a game-winning three into a game-tying two. Nevertheless, a lot has been said about the KD era of the Nets in the last couple of years.

Durant himself has had moments of self-reflection. For Durant, the failure still comes down to availability. Injuries, COVID protocols, and off-court drama robbed the trio of consistent time together. A few months ago, KD summed it up by saying the group had the right pieces and great moments on film, but never enough time to truly compete.

He said, “It looked good… we just couldn’t get on the court together. Injuries COVID… but when you turn that film [on]… there [was] some sh*t you can teach a team.” The Nets era will go down as one of the biggest “what-ifs” in NBA history.