NEW YORK — Kevin Durant was tired, not broken.
Discouraged but still confident about his personal future with the Brooklyn Nets and his friendship with Kyrie Irving.
The nets were swept by the more cohesive and determined Boston Celtics, a win that was recorded as the first in Durant’s 14 NBA seasons. The same applies to Irving, who missed a large part of the season because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Irving told the media he has no plans to leave Brooklyn as he may opt out of his contract and go freelance this summer.
Durant didn’t hesitate when asked by Yahoo Sports after his press conference if he would like to keep Irving as a teammate.
“Of course,” said Durant. “I would love for him to play more. Life is much more important to me than that. I can’t be mad. I can’t end the friendship because of something like this. Our friendship is based on who we are as people. Then there’s basketball. If we don’t get along on the basketball court, we can easily discuss it as friends.”
When asked if the season had put a strain on his friendship with Irving, he yelled a demonstrative “hell no,” but admitted there were some difficult moments as Durant had a heavy burden to bear. Initially, the Nets relegated Irving and didn’t allow him to play street games until attrition hit the team around the New Year.
“Yeah yeah. He’s not there, wants to be there,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “Having conversations, missing games, missing playing together. There wasn’t much more I could do. It was out of my control. The best thing I could do.” was to come to work and be myself and make sure the situation in the building is right for everyone.”
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant reacts during Game 4 of the Nets’ first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics at the Barclays Center Monday. The Celtics swept the nets. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
He knew he couldn’t force Irving to get vaccinated, so he said his frustration was confined to the immediate aftermath of a hard night’s sleep.
“I’d be mad after a game if I didn’t have him out there,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “Being a triple team or whatever like Kai would definitely help tonight but [mad at] him individually? nope.”
The story goes on
There was only so much Durant could control than James Harden, who went into training camp out of shape and played up a bit behind the scenes, leading to his deadline day trade to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons – who went a full year without a game .
As diminished as Harden looked, it seemed like he at least helped compared to Simmons, who was inactive for the entire series.
“James? He’s leaving? I wish things had been different,” Durant confessed to Yahoo Sports. “Being angry? I wish it were different. I can’t say I was that emotional.
“They are grown men. I can’t control how they feel. You might change your mind. Everyone gets this grace. Life is too amazing for me to get excited about. I understand people want me to feel.”
Durant is why Brooklyn is relevant in the NBA ecosystem. He understands that and knows the perception that he runs the organization, from Irving to Steve Nash, who was chosen to be the head coach.
He bites it, putting “franchise player” in quotes and calling himself another part of the machine. Durant, LeBron James and former teammate Steph Curry are the biggest names in the sport. James’ influence on the Lakers was widely speculated, and the Lakers flopped — not too dissimilar to the Nets’ underperforming this season, with speculation that Durant has a similar influence.
“I feel like that’s a narrative [media created]. I don’t even think LeBron does that,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “He might have input or know some information. But he says [pointing left]’That’s who you should get.’ [Points right.] “You should get that one.” I don’t think it works that way.
“I was close to Steph, he doesn’t work like that. Let people do their jobs. It’s not up to me to go beyond what they do. I’m only here to support. If they need me to text or call someone who of course can come.”
Durant said he helped recruit Goran Dragic when Dragic was bought out by San Antonio in February and released.
“I’m not ‘This is the boys list,'” Durant said. “Saan [Marks, Nets general manager] will hit me like, ‘Goran is interested, what do you think?’ I [contacted] him. I’ve always been since I’ve been here. I was never in control. I do not want it.
“I don’t want to know because I’m the ‘franchise player’, I just want to know who my teammates are. It’s disrespectful of me to come here about my status in the league and try to disregard what they’re doing. It’s not fair to them. Everyone has a career. I just want to know.”
Durant turns 34 in September and will be putting off a playoff feat he would like to forget as the years grow more precious.
His best performance was a 39-point performance in Game 4, but he averaged just 38.5% in that series and had a rough time with Boston’s swarming defense, turning over the ball more times than in any playoff run of his career.
It’s a far cry from last summer, when his performance in the losing playoffs earned him a level of recognition that Finals wins at the Golden State didn’t get from a decent segment of people.
As unfair as it seemed, this was to be the year that a Durant-led team stomped its way to the top. And while he lived up to MVP standards before injuring his knee in January, that reputation takes a hit with the momentum.
“It’s objective. Whoever played well that night is the best player,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I never really believed in that [stuff]. That’s not my mentality as a player.”
Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant hugs and congratulates Boston’s Jayson Tatum after the Celtics swept the nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs April 25, 2022. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Being eliminated so early and definitively could mark this as a lost season as no one knows how much longer he will play at this high level.
“I max out my years by getting up and getting closer to my craft. It’s not always about the outcome of the game,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I do this because I am real [enjoy] get up and enjoy going to work. It’s easy for me. Winning championships and averaging a certain number of points, all-star games, don’t get me wrong. i want it all But if I don’t get that, I still look forward to being in the NBA.
All Principles have acknowledged that the Eastern Conference is getting stronger, as evidenced by the Celtics’ performance. Durant was matched against Jayson Tatum at times – although Tatum benefited from the Celtics’ infrastructure and defense Durant did not – but he was impressed nonetheless.
“I told Jayson when he was in high school, he’s going to sell shoes, he’s going to be an all-star,” Durant said. “So, for him to do that? I expect him to do this; it’s no surprise to me. I expect him to be a Hall of Famer, 30,000 points, three-time Olympic champion. I expect that from him because he is so talented. That’s how great he is.”
Durant is now becoming a fan of the game as opposed to a participant, a sentiment that seems odd given his reputation – but a sentiment he can change, whether he admits to having the influence or not.