The Nets' Kyrie-KD-Harden Era Is Officially One Of The Most Spectacular Failures In The History Of Sports
You could argue that the Brooklyn Nets' series of decisions to team up KD, Kyrie Irving and James Harden was already one of the biggest embarrassments in NBA history well before the final nail in the coffin so to speak, but at least with Durant still hanging on in Brooklyn, there was some hope that upon his return to the lineup from injury, he could drag the Nets to championship contention.
Instead, KD basically said, "I quit, get me the fuck out of here" and is now in Phoenix. Shoutout to Greenie for late-night early-morning blogging the Kevin Durant trade.
Kind of a fitting end to a debacle of an underachieving era the likes of which I struggle to recall. Where shit like this was less a Mad Libs-style headline and more of an expected outcome:
That was just the tip of the iceberg. Sixteen games together for Brooklyn's would-be Big 3. Absolute jack squat to show for it. To the point where Harden was so over whatever the fuck was happening, he couldn't even make it through a proper season before demanding out. Exit one diva, enter an even bigger one in Ben Simmons. LOL.
At least Ben Simmons has a well-rounded game, though.
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I mean what else can you even do but laugh if you're a Nets fan? While the argument could be made that the opportunity to team those three superstars (not talking about Simmons here, obviously) together is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that you can't pass up. However, what was everyone saying from the very beginning — even when Kyrie and KD made the decision tto join forces well in advance of Harden's arrival?
"Uhh…if they can coexist."
Gee, turns out when you put Twitter-addicted imbalanced KD and conspiracy theory Kyrie together, it totally tears apart your locker room and burns whatever decent culture you might've had to the ground! IF ONLY anyone could've seen this coming from a million miles away!!
Now I'm sure Kyrie will be on his best behavior in Dallas at least for a while so that he can get that fat contract extension. Then he'll just revert to being an ignoramus, spewing fringe world views and acting like he's the smartest person in any room he walks into when he's probably in the 5% most moronic. If there is intelligence beyond basketball in your brain, Kyrie, maybe try to apply it in other areas of your life.
These guys are just the absolute fucking worst. It's so bad that we didn't have time at any point during the KD-Kyrie days to properly root against them as the NBA's biggest villain. They couldn't even give us that like the LeBron-DWade-Bosh Heat did. Harden's second season with the team coincided with Kyrie's anti-vaxx stand for, um, CIVIL LIBERTIES and stuff…? Yeah, that just alienated The Beard and triggered another trade.
With the totality of the Nets' failure during this chaotic time with three of the most talented offensive players to ever pick up a basketball, this KD shot with his foot on the line in Game 7 of the conference semis against the eventual NBA champion Bucks is an even more significant Sliding Doors moment:
Now with all that out of my system, I want to say: Props to the Brooklyn Nets for recognizing your mistake and moving off this core of players relatively fast.
You couldn't have blamed Brooklyn for riding this out to the bitter end. The pieces acquired in the Kyrie trade were reasonable enough to think, well, maybe KD can carry this team to a title. Instead, holy hell, four unprotected first-round picks and multiple younger pieces to build around in Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in the KD deal alone? Hell of a job by the Nets' front office.
Chances are, KD would not have, in fact, gotten Brooklyn out of the East with all the competition at the top of the conference boasting far more star power such as Boston, Milwaukee and Philly, where Harden now plays. Ain't that funny.
So let's recap: Harden went to chase a ring in a similar fashion as his ex-OKC teammate Durant did with Golden State. Instead of winning a couple championships that left him feeling empty like KD, Harden wound up being the first of Brooklyn's mercurial triumvirate to leave. Durant demanded a trade in the offseason, but walked it back, which was a true shock. Although he's played like an MVP this season, KD has missed extended time again due to injury, while Kyrie has stirred up all kinds of fun as usual.
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Thing is, had the Nets ridden this out and Kyrie and KD were still around, there was one last shot at redemption. Kyrie didn't bother to fuck around and find out, and burned whatever was left of the bridges he's cheaply constructed in Brooklyn after doing so in Cleveland and Boston before. Again: what a surprise. Who possibly could've seen this coming?
It's all just a catastrophe. Entertaining as can be but at the end of the day, don't we want to see good basketball? That we didn't even get a Conference Finals appearance out of the KD-Kyrie duo or even when Harden came aboard is beyond disappointing and pathetic. Pin blame on the organization in part if you must. For me, this is on the superstars who banded together with the best intentions only to smash dents into each of their legacies that'll be hard to overlook unless or until they win another title.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok