Suns’ Kevin Durant reflects on tumultuous tenure with Nets: ‘That was an important part of my life’

[ad_1]

Despite the fact that his tenure with the Nets was filled with drama and ended with him requesting — and being granted — a trade out of town, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant looks back fondly on his time in Brooklyn. 

“That was an important part of my life,” Durant said of his time with the Nets, via The Ringer. “Incredible four years. I’ve grown to love the state of New York, the city of Brooklyn. Good family and friends there. Played some of the best ball of my life there. Gained a lot of confidence … that I lost when I tore my Achilles [in the 2019 NBA Finals].

“The knowledge and information that the Brooklyn Nets gave to me on just my body, in general, helped me learn more about myself,” Durant added. “So it was a great four years there. And obviously, on the court, with our team, there was a lot of ups and downs with our roster, but once the ball tipped, once we got into practice, I just loved working with everybody there.”  

Extremely lofty expectations blossomed for the Nets after Durant and Kyrie Irving both signed in Brooklyn in 2019, and those expectations burgeoned with the addition of James Harden in January of 2021. But despite all of the talent on the team, the Nets won just one total playoff series during Durant’s time in Brooklyn. The team had to deal with a variety of injury issues, but the ultimate outcome was still extremely underwhelming. So, what went wrong? 

“You got to ask them, to be honest,” Durant says when asked what went wrong in Brooklyn. “My job is to play, and I think I did that. Rehab, a lot of stuff was out of my control that I didn’t … I can’t speak on, to be honest, but I just thought we didn’t play enough minutes together. That’s all.”

Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.

…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/suns-kevin-durant-reflects-on-tumultuous-tenure-with-nets-that-was-an-important-part-of-my-life/

Author : Michael Kaskey-Blomain

Publish date : 2023-04-25 22:30:40

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.