Kyrie Irving on Kevin Durant: 'There's never been one moment where I felt like he's been angry at me for decisions I've made'

Talks had progressed and stalled, and the Suns appeared to be pivoting toward a three-way deal that might’ve landed them Atlanta’s John Collins sometime Thursday morning, sources said. On the direction of his new owner, Mat Ishbia, general manager James Jones texted Nets GM Sean Marks sometime after 11 p.m. ET — and it wouldn’t be long until Ishbia and Nets owner Joe Tsai had cobbled together the final elements of the blockbuster trade, sources said. -via ESPN / February 9, 2023

Durant and his business manager, Rich Kleiman, told Tsai and Marks that their preference was a deal to Phoenix, sources said. Ishbia knew of Durant’s desire to join his franchise and set out to acquire the superstar in his first official week overseeing the organization. Few franchises ever get a chance to trade for a star like Durant — something this organization hadn’t experienced since making a deal for Charles Barkley in 1992. Ishbia’s initial hope was to keep Bridges out of the trade, but that was a non-starter for the Nets. The Suns’ offers weren’t close to the Nets’ asking price on Monday and Tuesday, and Marks kept working on possible trades to bolster the roster around Durant. The Nets pursued OG Anunoby in Toronto, and discussed possible deals for Collins and Cleveland’s Caris LeVert, but Durant’s mood was unsettled and Brooklyn knew it had to push Phoenix to make the kind of offer it couldn’t refuse. -via ESPN / February 9, 2023

Alex Kennedy: It’s worth noting that Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are friends and have trained together in the offseason. When two focal points are adjusting to playing together and trying to get on the same page, it typically helps when they already have a relationship. -via Twitter @AlexKennedyNBA / February 9, 2023

“This was in the works after year one. I was not sure whether I wanted to be in Brooklyn long-term. Because of the things that happened behind the scenes, I just did my best to put my head down and work as hard as I could,” the player shared. “There were some unfortunate circumstances that came up there that were out of my control whether it be the mandate with the vaccine, missing games, being suspended, or just little things that I think just put wrenches on our journey.” -via BasketNews / February 9, 2023

Irving scored a team-high 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field, 4-for-8 from 3, and 2-for-2 from the line. He also tallied five assists, four rebounds, one steal, and one block while committing five turnovers in 37 minutes of action. After the game, he talked to Eurohoops about Luka Doncic. “Luka is been playing professionally for so long, he has probably seen every defense. When I was 16 I wasn’t playing professionally. His childhood was different ground up in this game and to see his success at such a young age, I know I lot of hard work comes behind that and for me to be a part of his team just makes sense for me. As for the team, just don’t overthink and have fun on the court“, said Irving. -via EuroHoops.net / February 9, 2023

Callie Caplan: Kyrie Irving, who didn’t get to talk with Luka Doncic until at arena right before game: “No pressure for us to sit down and chop it up all the time…When I see somebody that has that special talent, you just got to get to know them first. I don’t want to force anything on him.” -via Twitter @CallieCaplan / February 9, 2023