Kevin Durant might be looking forward to a fresh start with the Suns after a rocky tenure with the Nets, but the 34-year-old superstar revealed on a recent episode of his podcast that he was “disappointed” that Kyrie Irving requested a trade from Brooklyn instead of finishing out the season with Durant.
The Nets granted Irving’s request and traded him to the Mavericks on Feb. 5. Four days later, Durant was dealt to Phoenix in one of the biggest midseason trades in NBA history. Despite Irving’s surprise trade request on Feb. 3 and his off-court issues often casting a shadow over the Nets during his and Durant’s shared tenure in Brooklyn, Durant made it clear he does not hold a grudge against Irving.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t finish the season, but I also know we’re all our own separate entities,” Durant said. “We all move and do the things that we want to do for our careers. I can’t fault somebody for doing that even though it might have been at our expense as a team. That’s who he is and that’s what he wanted to do, and I can’t have a problem with that.
“I don’t want to act like I wasn’t upset that we didn’t finish the season because I love playing with Ky. I wanted to see where we can go with that because we were both playing at a high level. That’s all I’m focused on in this league is hooping, not … what [Kyrie] was doing behind the scenes with his contract negotiations. I don’t even want to think about that stuff. Whatever he is doing, that’s him and I trust that he’s going to make the right moves for him and his family to move forward.”
[Kevin Durant and the Suns are all-in on NBA title chase]
Durant said he and Irving have not spoken at length since their respective trades, but he expects to have a conversation with Irving “at some point.”
Durant also acknowledged that Irving’s dispute with the Nets over his contract status going forward — Irving is set to be a free agent this coming offseason and a breakdown in extension talks with Brooklyn reportedly factored into his trade demand — impacted the rest of the team’s play.
“But I can separate what we do on the floor and who we are as human beings,” Durant said. “I know you’ve got your own situation that’s got nothing to do with what we’re doing. You’ve got to move how you’ve got to move for the betterment of you. … I probably wouldn’t have understood that seven or eight years ago [but] I’ve been through my situations with moving teams and feeling like I needed a new situation. I’ve been through it all, so I can understand your viewpoint. I can still be upset that we didn’t finish the job, but [you’re] cool with me.”
Is anything less than a title a failure for Kevin Durant with the Suns?
Durant is set to take the court for the first time as a Phoenix Sun on Wednesday in his return from an MCL sprain he suffered on Jan. 8. He is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game over 39 games this season.
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