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Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright slammed the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant over their mismanagement regarding Kyrie Irving's situation. The Nets suspended Irving before the start of the campaign because he refused to get vaccinated for COVID. Had they let him play, the All-Star guard would have been available for away games outside of New York only.
The Brooklyn Nets camp endured a COVID outbreak recently, though, which saw several players enter the league's health and safety protocols. That also included the team's other two All-Stars, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Following that, the Nets have now decided to reverse their call on Kyrie Irving's suspension and will be allowing him to play as a part-time player.
While discussing this on Tuesday's episode of First Things First, the show's co-host, Nick Wright, called out the Brooklyn Nets for their mismanagement by allowing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to run the organization. Here's what he said:
"It's a pattern. And what I really mean is a pattern of mismanagement. A pattern of letting Kevin Durant and to a lesser extent Kyrie Irving run your organization."
Wright then proceeded to discuss the topic with his co-panelist, Kevin Wildes, who has experience working within NBA teams. Wright mentioned three other decisions that were influenced by Kevin Durant, and to an extent by Kyrie Irving, further elaborating his opinion on the mismanagement by the Nets organization.
"Think about what they've done. They signed DeAndre Jordan. Why? They knew it was a bad idea, because KD and Kyrie wanted them to. They fired Kenny Atkinson for no reason other than those guys (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving), kind of wanted us to. They iced Jarrett Allen, stopped playing him. Why? Oh because you have to play DJ (DeAndre Jordan). They hired Steve Nash! You know, Sean Marks and Joe Tsai are not dumb guys. Like hey, first time head coaching in any capacity at all? That's not what you wanted to do. And now, they're folding their hands to Kyrie. Why? Because KD wants them to, he's playing too many minutes."
"They have made all those sacrifices, by the way near three of it! It has gotten them a total of one playoff series victory, one! So I think, it's a pattern of mismanagement. Which is, Sean Marks and Joe Tsai can say whatever they want, we should ask Kevin Durant because he's been in charge of the whole thing!"
The Brooklyn Nets indeed haven't made the best decisions over the last three seasons, but external factors have also come into play that have disrupted their path to success. For instance, the Nets had to deal with injuries to Irving and Harden in their second-round playoff series loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last campaign.
They were in a commanding position to an extent, even after that, but couldn't get over the hump. Had the Nets been healthy throughout the postseason, they could have potentially gone on to win the NBA title.
Will Kyrie Irving return's help Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets in their hopes to win the championship?
The Brooklyn Nets have fared decently in the absence of Kyrie Irving thus far. They have the best record in the Eastern Conference through their first 30 games. However, it's taken a monumental effort from Kevin Durant to help the side achieve this feat.
Durant is averaging a league-high 29.7 points per contest. He has had to single-handedly help the Brooklyn Nets achieve positive results on several occasions. James Harden was in dismal form to start the season and doesn't appear to be anywhere close to his best so far. This has led to KD playing a team-high 37 minutes per game, just 27 games into the season.
That isn't ideal for 33-year-old Kevin Durant, who has had a rough time with injuries since 2019. The Brooklyn Nets will need him to be 100% healthy come postseason. That can only be possible if they manage to win the regular season without him.
Harden has been in shaky form, so the Brooklyn Nets cannot rely on him much either, for now at least. That said, Kyrie Irving's return, albeit as a part-time player, could help them rest Kevin Durant more often. Irving will only be available for away games outside of New York and Toronto till he gets fully vaccinated for COVID.
Those are the matches that are probably the toughest to win during a regular-season stretch, so either way, it will help the Nets immensely in their quest to ease the pressure off Durant. The decision to recall Irving at this stage might just prove to be decisive and help the Brooklyn Nets finally complete their dream of winning the NBA championship this season.
Also Read: How much is Kevin Durant’ Net Worth in 2021?
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