Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden were better off with the Nets
When Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets in January of 2021, Brooklyn finally had the superteam that it strived for since acquiring Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in July of 2019. Unfortunately, the superstar experiment in Brooklyn ended at the February trade deadline for the 2022-23 season when Irving and Durant were traded a season after Harden was traded at the deadline for the 2021-22 campaign.
According to John Frascella of Fansided, the trio of Harden, Durant, and Irving were best off as members of the Nets given how their careers have gone since leaving Brooklyn. Harden has lost in the second round of the playoffs as a member of the 76ers for the past two seasons while Irving missed the playoffs completely with the Dallas Mavericks and Durant lost in the second round of the playoffs with his Phoenix Suns.
The most the trio achieved during their time with the Nets was getting to the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games. As things stand now, it’s possible that Harden goes back to Houston and that Irving could be leaving the Mavericks in free-agency. Durant at least has some stability as he is under contract for the next few seasons which is good news for the Suns.
