It’s well-known by now that Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant wanted a new head coach following a highly disappointing 2021-22 season.
Back in the offseason, Durant requested a trade from the organization. The Nets never found the trade package they wanted for the future Hall of Famer, however, and Durant ultimately agreed to return for a third season with the franchise.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Nets head coach Steve Nash addressed Durant wanting him to be fired. The Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time league MVP was rather classy in his response.
“Families go through things like this,” Nash said, per Tania Ganguli of the New York Times. “You go through adversity. You go through disagreements.”
The Nets entered the 2021-22 season as a prime favorite to win the NBA Championship. Irving is unvaccinated against COVID-19, and wasn’t eligible to play in most of the Nets’ home games of the state’s vaccine mandates. Durant missed several weeks of action due to a knee injury.
The Nets finished 44-38 in the regular season and won their play-in game against the Cleveland Cavaliers to finish as the No. 7 seed in the East. However, they were swept by the Atlantic Division rival Boston Celtics
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Fellow superstar James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster deal that brought Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. However, the two-time All-Defensive First Team selection didn’t play any games last season.
Simmons sought a trade from the 76ers after the 2020-21 campaign. He took time away to focus on his mental health and never played for Philadelphia in 2021-22. He was set to play for the Nets late in the season, but a back injury kept him out for the remainder of the year.
With Durant, Irving and Simmons all committed to Brooklyn for the 2022-23 season, the franchise has a much easier path to bringing the city its first championship.
