Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant teamed up to headline the NBA’s most talented current superteam lineup for the Brooklyn Nets.
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It’s no secret that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant made plans to team up in the 2019 NBA free agency. The duo had already played together with Team USA Basketball at the 2016 Rio Olympics before.
Both were in situations where they felt untenable with their current teams, and both wanted a change of scenery. Irving ultimately convinced KD to switch metropolis and move to the beating heart of the American economy – New York.
The Slim Reaper suffered a tragic Achilles tear in the 2019 NBA Finals. But his determination to leave Golden State and head over to the Nets remained unchanged despite the Warriors’ best attempts to dissuade him.
“Kevin Durant was ready to go in the Bubble”: Matt Sullivan makes a surprising revelation
Matt Sullivan got an all-access view to the Nets’ locker room over the course of the past year. He’s used a wealth of that information to write a book on the team’s 2020-21 NBA season.
Matt was recently on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz to talk about his upcoming book. He made a number of interesting reveals about how Kyrie Irving was responsible for some Nets locker room drama last year. Among these was the story of the Kenny Atkinson firing:
“I just remember not being able to talk to the management, talk to the coaches, talk to anyone without them being kind of scared of these guys. Including Kenny Atkinson, who built this whole program up.”
“He’s kinda saying ‘Let’s leave KD, the Maserati, in the case, and let Kyrie be Kyrie.’ But Kyrie goes behind his back and gets him fired. Kenny Atkinson is left wondering if he should fly halfway across the country and have a talk with this guy.”
“And then the Nets are kind of, I wouldn’t say tanking, but disappearing from the bubble while KD was ready. He was ready to go in the bubble, but Kyrie and him were kinda planning their own thing.”
