No one is talking about it and we are set to see 3 years of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn if they even finish the 3 years together. I was never a big fan of
Kevin Durant growing up but I do respect his game, I felt the biggest moment of his Career was when he had Golden State on the ropes but he ultimately blew the series and was unable to close out the series. So he goes and joins the team that beat him and absolutely takes the NBA by storm and added a Twin-Turbo to a Lamborghini in Golden State for 3 years. The Warriors caught some breaks along the way with Chris Paul going down after the Rockets won Game 5 behind Chris Paul’s 21 points going up 3-2. Chris Paul not available Games 6 and 7 and Warriors win. Kawhi Leonard misses the 2017 West Finals and the Warriors ducked what would’ve been a 6-7 game Series in my opinion. Anyways, Durant took his talents to Brooklyn as he looks to prove to everyone he can win outside of Golden State but I don’t see it happening.
For years I saw Kyrie Irving in Cleveland prior to LeBron James coming on over and his talent just blew me away. A long-range shooter with elite ball handling who can go off for 50 any given night yet his defense and play-making ability was always in question. Kevin Durant does not have LeBron James’s leadership skills to win with a player like Kyrie Irving, we all know LeBron James’ is arguably the biggest team player of all-time, seems like everywhere the guy goes he develops a Brotherhood within the team. Kyrie Irving grew sour in Cleveland and asked for a trade after hearing his name in trade rumors for Eric Bledsoe and Paul George. I always felt if Kyrie Irving had been more a complete point-guard like a Chris Paul or Kyle Lowry that LeBron James could’ve had a better shot against the Durant-Curry Golden State Warriors the 2016-2017 NBA Season.
Now on to Brooklyn, Kenny Atkinson is gone and the Nets are in search of a new Head Coach. I’ve heard rumors about Mark Jackson,Tom Thibodeau,Tyronn Lue, and even Gregg Poppovich being possible candidates to coach the Brooklyn Nets Franchise but I don’t think the Nets can win a Title with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant has never struck me as a winner and watching him on the Warriors everything was just too easy for him, he was able to play freely and not have to really worry about doing much but scoring. Sure he left OKC because he felt he wanted to become more all-around player and not just go ISO for a whole game and rack up scoring titles. Kevin Durant is a lethal scorer, believe me I loved his 66 point Performance at Rucker Park, that last shot when he came down the floor and effortlessly and shot a 30 foot bomb which made the crowd come on to the court was legendary stuff. Looking at this Nets team, the only way I see Durant winning a Title in his Brooklyn tenure is if the Nets hire Gregg Poppovich as Head Coach and possibly trade for Bradley Beal,otherwise sorry you are not convincing me.
I was really rooting for Kevin Durant to knock off Golden State the 2016 West Finals, I wasn’t a fan of the Warriors who were taking the league by storm. I hated watching Stephen Curry,Draymmond Green,and Klay Thompson showboat even though I give them credit for coming up from nothing and working hard to become one of the NBA most deadly trios. When it comes to Kevin Durant I just don’t see much of a leader, him budding heads with Draymmond Green showed his ego was checked. Regardless of whose side you took between Draymmond Green and Kevin Durant, Draymmond spoke facts. The Warriors did win without him, sure LeBron James was short-handed with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love for the 2015 Finals but the Warriors still won so let’s give them credit. Watching LeBron James and Anthony Davis develop a Brotherhood within the Lakers, you can see how unselfish the whole team is that there has been no bickering or rumors all season. Will the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving be able to develop a culture in Brooklyn like LeBron James and Anthony Davis? Can’t see it.
Kyrie Irving asked out of the Cavs when LeBron was ready to hand him the keys to the offense the same way he has done with Anthony Davis, he ruined the whole Locker Room in Boston last season and we should expect him to make it work with Kevin Durant and win a Championship? If my life was on the line I would stray far away from betting on Kyrie Irving winning another title. How much would that elevate LeBron James in our eyes? How about Kevin Durant? How will he manage dealing with Kyrie Irving if they fail next season? We don’t know who will be coaching in Brooklyn to manage these 2 massive egos. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are both already NBA Champions even though I do believe Kevin Durant has more to prove since he is considered in the eyes of many a Top 5 Player in the NBA today, Kyrie Irving? Not even close sorry.
To conclude, we all know Kyrie Irving had the opportunity to become a Top 5 point guard all-time after the Cavs won the Title 2016 but his 2017 performance exposed him quite a bit. I have not even mentioned how injury prone Kyrie Irving is, how long will he last? Can he make it through 82 games? Will Kevin Durant be able to carry the Nets while Kyrie Irving is out nursing injuries? I’ll give it to Durant, even though he is in his 30’s and coming off a injury which kept him out all of this Season I’d bank on him being one of the Top 5-10 players in the game next season, the man is a pure shooter and will average in the neighborhood of 25-30 ppg next season but he won’t be explosive like he used to be. Kevin Durant is not the freak of nature LeBron James is, he won’t be playing at an MVP Level by his 17th season like LeBron James either. No one talks about it but maybe Kevin Durant went to Golden State because he knew his window was closing and he wanted to maximize himself. That said Kevin Durant won’t be winning any more rings in Brooklyn, still a Top 20-30 player all-time though, till next time.
D-NBA 