The Brooklyn Nets were much more than a last-minute change of heart for Kyrie Irving, but rather his preferred landing spot soon after his postseason ended with a disappointing four straight losses against the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Irving had changed course from his commitment to the Boston Celtics by midseason, given his chilly relationship with teammates and coaches.
The New York Knicks were the potential favorite to land the duo of Irving and Kevin Durant. That partnership was the dream, but Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie had been in Kyrie's ear all season long, trying to sell him on a slightly different course:
“Everyone knew Spencer was talking to him,” a source close to the situation told Mannix. “The coaching staff knew it. The front office knew it. It wasn’t like they were asking him all the time, ‘What’s going on?’ But they knew his relationship with Kyrie.”
When the season ended, the Nets immediately emerged as Irving’s preferred home.
Dinwiddie's role in convincing Irving to pick the Nets over the Knicks is well-chronicled by now, giving him constant input throughout the regular season and taking every opportunity to sell him on a future at the Barclays Center.
As the offseason neared, the prospect of joining forces with Durant, as well as DeAndre Jordan, became too good a proposition to leave behind.
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