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Kyrie Irving was in no mood to hide his delight when asked about the news that Kevin Durant would be leaving Brooklyn in a trade to join the Phoenix Suns.
A ESPN report revealed that Durant and TJ Warren are set to move to the Valley in a blockbuster trade, with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks going to Brooklyn in return.
Irving, who was traded to the Mavericks on Sunday after requesting a trade from the Nets, was asked his real-time reaction to the bombshell report that Durant was following him outside Barclays Center, and the former Duke star is delighted. with both. they are now ‘in places where we can prosper’.
‘We had a lot of conversations throughout the year about, you know, what our future is going to look like. There was still a level of uncertainty,’ Irving said Wednesday night, after adding 24 points, four rebounds and five assists in his Dallas debut, a 110-104 win over the Clippers.
“But, we only care about seeing each other in places where we can thrive, and whether it’s together, whether it’s apart, there’s never been a time where I’ve felt like he’s been mad at me for the decisions I’ve made.” or have I been mad at him. We just try to understand each other much better and grow as human beings, grow as brothers.’
He added: ‘This business changes so fast. He’s getting a little older. I’m getting a little older. I love the competition now that we can be in the same conference and I welcome all of that. Getting to see him a little more, probably playing against Phoenix a lot more.
That’s what I’m looking forward to. Everything else in between, I’m glad it got out of there.
The entire NBA feared that their championship aspirations would be put on the back burner for years when the Nets built an offensive behemoth of Irving, Durant and James Harden in January 2021.
Now, two years later, Harden is with the Philadelphia 76ers, Irving is with the Dallas Mavericks, and Durant is reportedly headed to Phoenix.
But the trio was never quite healthy and they have no championships to show for the short time they’ve been together.
They played together just 16 times, going 13-3 over that stretch. The Nets were 5-1 in the playoffs with all three on the floor.
Now the Nets are heading into full rebuild mode and Irving, who felt he wasn’t shown enough respect in Brooklyn, has revealed that the Big Three’s departure took a long time.
“I think this was in the works, like after the first year. I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to be in Brooklyn long-term, again, because of things going on behind the scenes,” Irving continued.
“I just did my best to keep my head down and work as hard as I could. There were some unfortunate circumstances that arose there that were out of my control.
“Whether it’s the mandate with the vaccine or missing games, my suspension or, you know, just little things that I think, you know, just put keys on our journey.”
All eyes will now be on how Irving and Durant lift their new teams in a stacked Western Conference.
Durant headed to Brooklyn along with Irving in 2019, having won two titles with Stephen Curry as his Golden State running mate.
Now, the duo, going toe-to-toe with competing franchises, will battle Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Ja Morant and the Grizzlies and Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, as well as LeBron James’ Lakers out west.
In fewer than three seasons in Brooklyn, Durant averaged 29 points, 5.8 assists while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.