Kyrie Irving: Don’t Know If Anything Needed to Be Salvaged with Harden, Durant, Nets

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVFebruary 7, 2024

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Kyrie Irving led the Dallas Mavericks to a 119-107 win over his former team, the Brooklyn Nets, on Tuesday night, scoring 36 points while adding five assists.

After the game, he was asked if he felt like there was anything he could have done differently during his time in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant and James Harden before he was ultimately traded to the Mavs:

Nets Videos @SNYNets”It was time to get my own peace of mind & go somewhere where I was able to thrive & be in a situation where I didn’t have to worry about behind-the-back talk, media talk or not knowing how to handle real-life circumstances that have nothing to do with basketball”

– Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/wh5wvJFjl6

Tim Bontemps @TimBontempsKyrie Irving, when asked if anything could have gone differently to where he would not have asked for a trade a year ago: pic.twitter.com/HzJBzRgv4r

Irving did acknowledge to reporters his controversy-laden time in Brooklyn fell short of his own championship aspirations with the team:

“Everything that I’ve learned about myself has come from being in the city and being in Jersey. So when I got an opportunity to play for the New Jersey Nets or play for the Brooklyn Nets—I always make that mistake—it was a childhood dream.”Obviously I fell short in terms of the championship aspirations [in Brooklyn]. But for me, I think it was bigger than a championship here. I had to really take some moral stances that propelled me into a place in my life that I had to become accustomed to. There were some political things that were going on here as well that I couldn’t control that I was responsible for. There was some things that I did on my accord that I look back on and they were mistakes. And I have to be accountable for those things. I’m not perfect. But one thing I can say is I’ve been able to learn from things and continue to push forward.”NBA @NBAAll love for Kyrie after his return to Brooklyn tonight 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ddlhFpJPMc

Irving, Durant and Harden ultimately ended up playing in just 16 games together across two seasons before Harden forced a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. Irving would eventually be traded to Dallas, while Durant shortly thereafter was sent to the Phoenix Suns.

When Durant and Irving paired up in Brooklyn back in 2019, the future was bright, and adding Harden in Jan. 2021, it was championship or bust for the Nets.

Bust won out in a major way.

Injuries affected the trio at various points, and Irving wasn’t able to play home games for much of the 2021-22 season because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Eventually Harden left, and Irving was suspended after he promoted an antisemitic film on his social media accounts in Oct. 2022 and initially failed to apologize when given the opportunity.

The Nets also went through multiple head coaches during the Durant-Irving era, and by the time the pair finally moved on, it felt like a soap opera had wrapped.

Irving seems happier in Dallas, where the Mavs are 28-23 and have more of an upside than their record would suggest, given that Irving and superstar Luka Dončić have only played 24 games together this season.

In a Western Conference that feels pretty wide open this year, the Mavs are a genuine threat. That has Irving looking forward, not back.