Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have dominated NBA offseason headlines. People want to know where they will play next year but it remains unclear at the moment. However, an entirely new conspiracy has emerged in reference to Durant's Brooklyn Nets trade request, per realGM. Dave McMenamin of ESPN shared a wild theory about KD's real motives when he asked for a trade.
“There is a school of thought speaking to people around the league that they think the Kevin Durant trade request wasn’t actually about him getting out of Brooklyn,” McMenamin said. “It was about getting Kyrie Irving out of Brooklyn.”
There is no proof that this theory is correct. However, if true, this would send shockwaves around the NBA. There have been other Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving theories discussed by the media, including this one from Kendrick Perkins.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are superstars. But the Nets duo was unable to get the job done after a drama-filled 2021-2022 season. The drama began when Irving was unable to play due to Brooklyn's vaccine mandate. This forced the Nets to lean on their depth.
Then James Harden trade rumors began swirling. The Nets ultimately dealt Harden to the 76ers for a Ben Simmons-led trade package. However, Simmons ended up not playing a single game in 2021-2022.
Irving was able to play road games mid-way through the season. And toward the end of the year, the city of Brooklyn allowed him to play home games as well. Nonetheless, the Brooklyn Nets were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.
So Kevin Durant realistically may want a fresh start without Kyrie Irving in the picture. We will continue following this story to see if evidence emerges to back up McMenamin's claims.