The Kevin Durant era of the Nets will be seen as a disappointment to NBA fans, but for the All-NBA star, those were a special four years of his career.
The Suns introduced Durant in a news conference with president of basketball operations James Jones and new owner Mat Ishbia alongside the team's new player. Phoenix acquired the 34-year-old forward from Brooklyn at the NBA trade deadline last week, and Durant hoped to return to action after the All-Star break.
Fans and reporters were in attendance, and the mention of Durant's Nets career was met with boos. But while James Harden saw his tenure with the Nets with regret and Kyrie Irving saw himself escaping a bad situation, Durant had a different view of his time in Brooklyn.
"It was a lot of ups and downs, but I loved the grind," Kevin Durant said Thursday, per SNY video. "Everybody in Brooklyn loved the grind, too. I built a family over there. They're always going to be a part of my journey. We didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish as far as winning a championship. But I enjoyed the grind, and everybody there, we tried our hardest everyday, regardless of what was going on in the media, what was going on with our teammates. Everybody who was in that gym, we grinded.
"I love those guys. I get emotional talking about it because that was a special four years of my career. Coming off my Achilles, they helped me through a lot. I don't have anything ... Yeah, it was terrible how stuff went down, but at the end of the day, I loved the grind, and we all loved the grind there in Brooklyn. I wish them the best going forward. They got a bright future."
Durant signed with the Nets in 2019 after he tore his Achilles in the NBA playoffs while playing with the Golden State Warriors the previous season. After a year off, he helped lead Brooklyn to the Eastern Conference semifinals where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7. His final full season with the Nets ended in first-round exit to the Boston Celtics.
But Durant showed Thursday his time in Brooklyn was not as bad as his peers seemed to make it out to be and that he was supported by the organization during a down period of his career.
The All-Star forward now moves on to a Suns team that is expected to make noise in the Western Conference but will be determined by the health of the team's stars.
