Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Look to Form Career-Altering Bond in Brooklyn
Both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving spoke with the media earlier today at the 2019 Brooklyn Nets Media Day.
Durant and Irving both spoke about why they choose to team up with one another in Brooklyn, why they choose the Nets over a variety of other teams in free agency, the high expectations they have for the team entering this season, and one answer that is sure to make Nets fans rejoice.
“We wanted to end our careers together, and what better place than Brooklyn," Irving said earlier today in regards to why he decided to team up with Durant.
Both seemed at peace with their situation in Brooklyn, and why they feel after such illustrious careers, this is a great place for them to possibly end what is sure to be two Hall of Fame careers.
"This is an opportunity we haven't had in our careers," Irving said about why he choose the Brooklyn Nets and playing with Durant. "The ability to make a choice, sitting down, actually talking in detail about the future and the investment we had in one another. And the investment that we wanted to have in Brooklyn. It made sense all the way around."
Even though Durant reiterated today that he will not take the court this season following rehabilitation from a Torn Achilles he suffered back in June, he is looking forward to teaming up with Irving, and feels the team can accomplish great things once he is fully healthy in addition to this season without the services of a historically great player.
"We built that mutual respect," Durant said about deciding to follow Irving to the Borough. "It's very rare that we could meet up at this point, and have a decision in front of us where we could control our destinies. We sat down and talked about it... I think this is the perfect spot for us to hone our skills and continue to grow. It was one of those things that happened organically."
A theme all throughout Media Day from the team's two biggest starts was that this is an opportunity in which neither side believed they would ever have, and felt it was too good to pass up teaming up with one another on this Nets team.
"I really liked his approach to his craft as a coach [Head Coach Kenny Atkinson], and that's what drew me in pretty quickly," Durant said about why he choose the Nets over a multitude of other suitors. "I could see he is pretty genuine, and being in the east coast again was something I was really excited about. I was excited about being only a few hours from home."
Durant was born and raised in Maryland.
After the 2019 off season, Durant and Irving are tied at tied at the hip, and after Irving's comments on wanting to both end their careers in Brooklyn, the two are now even more inextricably linked than they were entering the day.
Both of these All-Stars are on their third team in the National Basketball Association, and after today's Media Day, it seems that both players are keen on making this the final stop of their careers.
If Durant and Irving end up retiring as Nets, great success is sure to come the way of a seemingly snake-bitten franchise at times.
Today's Brooklyn Nets Media Day means the countdown is officially on for the 2019-2020 NBA season. The Nets have huge expectations for both this year, and the future. Plus both of their star players are at ease with their decision and are looking forward to bringing greatness to Brooklyn.
