The Nets’ acquisition of James Harden — via four-way trade on January 14 — set expectations high in Brooklyn. Pairing Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving gave the Nets a bonafide superteam. Surely, super results would follow, right?
So far, it’s been a mixed bag. The Nets are scoring more than any other team in the league since the Harden trade, but they’re also giving up the second-most points over that span. They went 6-2 in the first eight games since Harden’s arrival, but they’ve dropped four of their last five, including three straight. Irving might have said it best after Tuesday’s loss to the lowly Detroit Pistons when he said his team looks “very average.”
“We look very average.”
-Kyrie Irving on the Nets
Brooklyn’s recent struggles, namely on defense, have been a dispiriting jolt to Nets fans whose hopes have ballooned since the team’s acquisition of Harden. On Tuesday, one of those fans reached out to Durant following the Nets’ loss to Detroit.
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Four Reassuring Words From Kevin Durant
Per Ajayi Browne (@ajayibrowne) on Twitter, a fan — Aayan Ibrahim, whose Instagram handle is @king_ib13 — direct messaged Durant on Instagram saying, “As a fan this s— is embarrassing. This team right now looks horrid. Waiting for your return king.”
Browne posted a screenshot to Twitter of the Instagram exchange between Ibrahim and Durant, which he said was posted in a Nets group chat page on Facebook. Durant has missed the last two games due to health and safety protocols after he was abruptly pulled from last Friday’s game due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
Durant’s response to the fan was simple: “S— gonna be aight.”
.@KDTrey5 says R-E-L-A-X 💸
Only four words, but as the sky feels like it’s falling for some in Nets land, it resonated. “I don’t know why a simple text response like this relaxes me, but it does,” @kwilly462 wrote on Twitter.
“I’m surprised he even responded,” Ibrahim told Browne, which Browne then posted to Twitter. “But I guess he wanted to keep us calm as fans.”
Here’s a clearer screenshot of the conversation.
MVP-Caliber Numbers
Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said last week that he expects Durant to be eligible to return to the team on Friday.
The Nets are 6-3 since the Harden trade in games that Durant has played. The future Hall of Famer has missed four games over that span, during which Brooklyn is 1-3.
Durant is putting up MVP-caliber numbers this season with averages of 29.5 points, 5.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game. He’s shooting a sparkling 52.9% from the field, 44.9% from 3-point range, and 87.2% from the free-throw line.
Still, in an MVP straw poll of 100 voters conducted by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Durant (272 total points in the voting) ranked No. 4 — behind LeBron James (760 total points), Joel Embiid (665) and Nikola Jokic (596).
ESPN NBA MVP Straw Poll Results:
LeBron James – 760 total points
Joel Embiid – 665
Nikola Jokic – 596
Kevin Durant – 272
Kawhi Leonard – 153
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 66
Stephen Curry – 36
Paul George – 17
Luka Doncic – 10
Jayson Tatum – 8
Rudy Gobert – 6
Donovan Mitchell – 6
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Kevin Durant Has Reassuring Message for ‘Embarrassed’ Nets Fan