In the not so distant past, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were teammates on the Brooklyn Nets. Irving's trade request eventually blew up the pairing. With Irving now on the Dallas Mavericks and KD on the Phoenix Suns, Durant finally spoke out about how Irving's public trade request affected the Nets.

As he held his introductory press conference with the Suns, Durant was asked about Irving. Durant spoke candidly about Irving's trade and their overall chemistry on the Nets.

“I was upset that we couldn't finish. I thought we had some good momentum, we were finally building the culture we always wanted,” Durant said. “It was a blow to our team. It took away our identity. He was a huge, huge part to what we do.”

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Durant went on to call Irving a Hall of Fame player who can, “do everything,” on the floor. But with him choosing to leave Brooklyn, Durant felt the Nets were handicapped in what they were able to do. With the Nets starting to find their chemistry, Durant said he was, “sick to his stomach,” to see Irving leave.

Kevin Durant ended up playing 129 games for the Nets while Kyrie Irving played 127. Brooklyn adding Durant and Irving was supposed to be the start of a new era for the Nets. Instead their tenure ended in a messy divorce from all parties. Now, KD and Irving will battle it out for Western Conference supremacy.

Durant knew how much Irving meant to the Nets' success. Seeing him request a trade took away all of the things they had been building towards in Brooklyn.