Nets Star Kevin Durant Strongly Shuts Down Kyrie Irving Theory

The drama and negativity surrounding the Nets didn’t come to a halt once the 2022-23 NBA season started.

In fact, times might be tougher in Brooklyn now than they were back in the summer.

The Nets suffered a 125-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center on Saturday night, dropping their record on the campaign to 1-5. Over the course of this slow start, Brooklyn has seen a string of concerningly poor play from Ben Simmons and an insensitive social media post from Kyrie Irving. Irving was pressed about the post Saturday and offered no remorse, which led to a heated exchange with ESPN’s Nick Friedell.

Kevin Durant on Saturday also was asked about Irving’s polarizing social media activity, specifically whether it was serving as a detriment to the struggling Nets. KD didn’t leave even a sliver of a gray area with his response.

“Absolutely not,” Durant told reporters. “It only impacted you guys and everybody outside the locker room.”

While the Irving-related drama might not be a major hindrance to the Nets on the court, it’s not helping the situation either. It’s early, but Brooklyn has the look of a team that totally lacks cohesion and chemistry.

The Nets will try to get back in the win column Monday night when they run it back with the Pacers in Brooklyn.