It’s been well over two years since Kevin Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets, but apparently all it took was a 117-99 loss to Golden State on Tuesday for Stephen A. Smith to blow a gasket.
The ESPN personality decided to go on one of his infamous rants, but this time it was about Durant making the wrong decision in deciding to team up with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn.
It should be noted that Smith is a Knicks fan. It also should be noted that he’ll yell about anything and everything. If there’s even the slightest chance that he can make something out of nothing, he’s going to go for it. Since KD is one of the best basketball players of all time, he’s an easy target, especially given his poor performance against the Warriors.
Durant finished with a season-low 19 points and shot 6-of-19 from the field, including an 0-for-8 outing in the third quarter. Golden State went from being up by five at the half to entering the final quarter of play with a hefty 22-point lead. KD failed to show up in the second half and the Dubs seized the opportunity en route to a convincing win.
It was a disappointment not only for Brooklyn fans, but also for casual NBA viewers. It was supposed to be an exciting matchup between the top-two MVP favorites, but Durant didn’t deliver. It was only the 14th game for the Nets out of 82, but Smith wasn’t having it. He’s already given up on KD being in Brooklyn. Insanity.
"Kevin Durant, I'm sad for you bro. ... You have no help. And more importantly than anything else, you made the wrong decision by going to Brooklyn. ... KYRIE IRVING BETRAYED YOU!"@stephenasmith LOST IT 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/gjw5tAZVcO
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 17, 2021
Stephen A. Smith calls out Kevin Durant for joining the Brooklyn Nets.
Ok then …
He called out KD for joining the Nets, but it wasn’t because of his level of play. It was due to the players he decided to surround himself with.
He yelled, “KD don’t have no help. You left there all alone.”
As of right now, Durant’s the only consistent player on the team. James Harden is crawling out of the hole that he started the season in, but he’s still far from the player that he was in Houston. And as for Irving, Smith feels as if the guard betrayed Durant. He even went as far to say that he hopes that Irving gets cut by the team.
So, yes, Smith was screaming his head off about KD deciding to team up with Irving in Brooklyn, but it was more of an opportunity for him to call out Irving and Harden for not helping Durant out … and also to take shots at the borough for allowing MVP chants to break out at the Barclays Center for Curry. But faulting KD for wanting to start anew in a different city and create his own “team” after he was criticized for joining a loaded Warriors squad? Come on. Also, this team was one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals last year despite dealing with debilitating injuries.
Does Durant care about what Smith had to say? Absolutely not. It’s still way too early to count the Nets out, but the team does need to find ways to help him out if they want to have a successful run in the playoffs. Surely, bringing the Larry O’Brien trophy to Brooklyn will formulate some type of culture. Look how it helped the Warriors.
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