As we sit here on Friday morning, the Nets have only played one game this week. It happened on Tuesday and was a loss to the Chicago Bulls. Sharpshooter Kevin Durant just wants to play basketball, but the focus has been on everything except the court over the last few days in Brooklyn.
Between Kyrie Irving’s controversial social media post, his delayed apology, and head coach Steve Nash no longer leading the way, it’s been a tumultuous week in Nets land. Ahead of Brooklyn’s game in D.C. against the Washington Wizards, some of the media caught up with Durant. Among those taking notes was ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
In case you’re catching up here, the Nets finally decided to suspend Irving without pay Thursday night for his conduct. His suspension didn’t have a specific end date, but it’d be at least five games. General manager Sean Marks said Irving’s apology was one step toward getting him back on the court. They also never considered releasing the 30-year-old veteran.
What’s on Durant’s mind now that he’ll be playing at least the next few games without Irving on the court with him?
KD on Kyrie suspension: “It’s an unfortunate situation … it just sucks all around for everybody. Hopefully we can move past it.”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 4, 2022
Durant was also asked about the things Kyrie did this past week, from sharing an antisemitic film to not directly apologizing for it multiple times. Here’s what he said:
What did KD think of Kyrie’s conduct this week?
“I ain’t here to judge nobody … I just didn’t like anything that went on. I feel like it was all unnecessary. I feel like we could have kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization. I just don’t like none of it.”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 4, 2022
All the dude wants to do is put his head down and play some basketball. That’s what Durant has done so far this season, despite the Nets’ 2-6 start. When discussing his trade request from the summer during training camp, Durant touched on how building a “championship culture” within the organization he plays for is important.
It’s safe to say the events of the past week have been the opposite of what he’s hoping for. He did add that he trusts Brooklyn to do the right thing.
After he made these comments during the shootaround, Kevin Durant went to Twitter to clarify them:
Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused..I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism, I’m about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 4, 2022
The Nets finally having a game on Friday is probably the best thing for the organization. Their focus can start turning back to the court, with hopes they can finally start to move past just their latest parade of mistakes.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
